


Wicked

by Panda365



Series: Rewrite the Stars [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, She-Hulk, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:07:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28857840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panda365/pseuds/Panda365
Summary: Six years pass and the team eventually loses any hope in finding the Banner couple. The rest of the Avengers are being watched, tracked and hunted by Hydra. With the original team are hesitant to participate in another mission, Maria Hill decides to send Riley out on her first solo assignment...along with the chaotic team Riley insists upon taking with her.  Meanwhile, in Asgard, a familiar mischievous demigod may be amid his own dark sided mission.*Rewrite the Stars Series Finale
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Original Character/Original Character
Series: Rewrite the Stars [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927951
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	1. The Search

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collaborative effort between me and the fabulous @mir_sawyer! 
> 
> Please comment and let us know what you think! :)

Thor is summoned to one of the monthly meetings early one morning, about discussing the matters of his realm with his consultants and heads of different departments. Aka his friends...mostly. He has a wide smile on with an eagerness to share something his daughter started to do just that morning with a group that doesn't seem too impressed. Agatha's abilities to snap her fingers for electricity seem meaningless in a world full of demigods and other powerful creatures.

They are however curious, as he can see over his sunglasses. And Thor is eager to address their bubbling questions;

"Ah these! I shall send for my friend from work to fashion some for all of you- they really are quite useful when out in the sun." He booms with one of his "thunder laughs" (trademarked by Natasha Romanoff, thank you very much (Shield doesn't pay all the bills)), and drums the table, once again not receiving a reaction, "What is the official business that is to be discussed on this fine day?"

Thor half listens to stories of a dried up stream out west, civilian fights breaking out in the south, and then, he nearly pokes his eye out removing his Stark Sunglasses, "Right!"

"Have you heard a word?," a council member prods.

"Problems. Many problems. I would like a Bloody Mary. You see, my son Agmundr, he keeps me up all night, the child might even be a Werewolf for all we know!"

Thor immediately sees he has said the wrong thing at the alarmed faces the council-people show. So they listened to him after all...

One of the women, too palid to be considered normal, is the first one to talk. "One of the biggests issues is the one we're facing up in the Northern Woods, sir."

His eyes twitch, "What of the woods? The most trouble we have there is of the yellow-tailed Foxes, Agatha seems to love them but soon we're gonna face the most furry of invasions.”

"There have been sightings of a large creature, terrorizing the lives of our unsuspecting civilians and able to camouflage with the green of the trees."

"Phew! Agmundr isn't green. I can confirm! And terrorizing, you say, clearly these northerners have yet to interact with Valkyrie!" Thor laughs, no one else indulges him. He coughs, "I shall investigate further. Is there anything else to be made aware of?"

A member lingers, her eyes soft once the group is officially dismissed. She leans in, "Thor?"

"What is it, Lady Sif."

He leans in to give his friend full attention. She whispers, "It is your son, actually, Agmundr. He insists on continuing to visit the prisons-."

Thor's expression goes blank, pale even as his smile disappears, "Well, that's something he doesn't mention to me. Station more warriors at the gate. And transfer my brother to the furthest holding cell. Notify me, should Agmundr continue to disobey my orders; no enters the prisons unless authorized to do so! Now, I must see Heimdall. Lady Sif? Are you available to supervise my offspring-."

"No. Your little demons will need to find someone else, I bet if sent to the northern forest that creature wouldn't be sighted again, scarred for its life by the two terrors you call offsprings..."

"Respect." She squints. He clarifies, "I understand. I understand-why you- okay. Disregard. In Midgard it is a common response, I do assure you-."

"There's word the Midgardians have been trying to contact you-."

"I shall go-!"

"I would strongly recommend focusing on Asgard first. Fix our political matters, aid our civilians before you run off again? It would help more of our people to respect you...since you are consistently missing from our council. If I may be so bold…"

Thor nods, "You are quite wise, Lady Sif. Quite wise."

* * *

"Daddy?"

Tony Stark stops and looks down to see his daughter, Antonia, at his feet, looking up at him with her wide eyes. He pats her head and keeps walking down the hallway, "Not right now." She moves closer to the door of the Laboratory, where Izabella Mikhailov is preparing for another warp. He yells protectively, "Stay away, Antonia Vivian! You can't play with Izabella."

"Why?" She's at that age. Always asking 'why'.

Tony shakes his head, "It's not safe."

"What's not safe?" Pepper asks, coming to view, with a sigh. He gestures meaninglessly. She tilts her head over the realization, her heart sinking, "Oh Tony, don't treat Izabella like some dangerous lab experiment, she's just a child."

"I know that."

"Then why are you constantly keeping the girls apart? Antonia just wants to play-."

Steve steps around the corner, a device in his hand, suited up, "I'm ready when you are Tony."

Stark nods, "Great! I'll get my suit."

"For what?,' Pepper pivots desperately, 'Tony?! What is going on! What are you doing?"

"Steve and I are going to search a few more dimensions."

"Again?! You really need to ease up on this. Izabella needs to move on with her life Tony. You all do. You're not even letting her hands heal-."

"She's had six months."

"She's a CHILD!," Pepper glares, he shuts the door on her in a tearful huff Tony doesn't want his wife to see, practically mid breakdown. She yells, growling to tug at the door handle, "Anthony Edward Stark!"

A green Jennifer Walters is passing through with her own research when she sees and hears the Stark's dilemma. She chooses to intervene, urging Pepper to move. With a strong hip check and a tug she breaks the lock and swings the door open.

Pepper nods with gratitude, "Thanks-Tony! Get over here right now!"

"Men," Jen rolls her eyes and heads for the lab in her own dark headspace. She desperately needs to talk with a team that is never around, a text message flashing up on her device from John Jameson. She sighs and moves to call him back, barely skimming the message. It's something to do with Lucy...again.

She dials, pausing with an eye roll over getting his voicemail. Her frustration comes through her tone. With her husband and daughter back in California, she can't exactly drive over to check in. Choosing to remain in New York was not exactly a decision Jennifer made lightly but yet, so necessary in her mind.

"Answer your phone dumbass…', the beep goes off on the opposite end, 'It's Jen. I got your text, Tony and Steve are taking Izabella out for another dimension search. Call me back, please?"

"I'm coming with you," Jen overhears a suited up Clint fighting to join Steve and Tony. Pepper is still yelling;

"You shouldn't even be here Clint! You have a newborn at home!"

He snaps, "And Nat's still missing. Laura is fine, she’s with her sister-.”

Jen forces an exhale, seeing another text message come in, this time from Lucy. She opens it as she slips into the lab. All it says is; "I'm so sorry mom."

Jen knows it's not a good sign, but dealing with another brawl between her half Hulk child and wolf side of her husband...- she doesn't have the time. She swipes it to the side just to open a message alert from Fury, explaining that Hydra tried to make an attack on Maria Hill. The attack was successfully thwarted by Riley, who sensed the incoming bomb and was able to take action before any harm could come to them…Happy Valentine's Day...

"Are you okay, Miss Jen?"

Walters looks up to see Izabella curled up on a bench. Her nose is red, eyes puffy from her tears. Jen tilts her head, tucks her phone into a pocket and forces a smile, "I'm fine, sweetheart."

"How's Lucy?" she sniffles, looking up, hopeful.

The lawyer nods, laying her file down on an already crowded workbench, "She's, um…"

Failing school, transferred from three different schools, arguing with her father enough for John to start threatening separation from Jennifer…

"Good. She's good. She hasn't called you?" Izabella shakes her head, 'no'. Jen nods her head more slowly, twisting her jaw, "She takes after me with a strong stubborn gene. She'll come around."

Izabella nods, though doubtful. Once inseparable; her best friend from the summer has practically vanished. Jennifer says she's busy with school but Izabella can still see the disappointment in Lucy's eyes from that night...that awful night where everything went wrong…

Antonia comes running in, a smile on her face when she pleads Izabella for a hug and attention.

Tony looks half disgusted and half tired when he steps purposefully back into the lab with Steve, Pepper and Clint. He gently pushes Izabella away from Antonia, directing his following remark at Pepper;

"Can you please keep Antonia out of the lab?"

Pepper grinds her teeth, "You're not listening to me, Tony."

Stark points to Barton and focuses on Izabella, "He's joining us for this one."

Izzy nods, squashing her fears about warping all of them. She hugs the crystal around her neck, toying with the two stones she's added to it; a familiar emerald and ruby.

The engineer snaps his fingers, "Alright let's go-."

"Tony! Ten minutes, please," Pepper lifts Antonia and sighs, trying to reach her husband one more time.

There's an awkward silence between them and in the room, all eyes on the Stark family.

She swallows, "Look, we all want to find them. I get it. I feel their absence just as much as you do! We all do! Anna asks everyday-But please, don't let this dominate you for the rest of your life. At some point you need to move on and realize that...Your daughter is here and she needs you. And I need you. You're missing out on this. Tony. You have already been through this once, you have lived through a similar scenario as a child as well, think about it, think about how it affected you and what it meant. Please...just-I love you, and I can wait for you, I don't know if Anna will. Please.

Tony freezes and his eyes shift to his daughter, who sits in Pepper's arms and looks at him. Pepper isn't wrong- he's gone every other week, for days on end. When he isn't gone he's home working with Izabella and Jennifer trying to track down Natasha and Bruce. Pepper's words seem to affect him. And both Walters and Barton whose thoughts are on their own families.

Tony shifts a bit in his stance, "Two more trips. That's it...two more worlds. We need to get it right. Two more tries to bring the rest of our team home, if it doesn't work, I won't stop trying but I will be here, I won't be gone as much. I will stay with you and our baby girl. I promise."

Izabella swallows a hard gulp, the pressure on her is unmatched and she feels like fainting. But Pepper seems to appreciate the remark and agrees;

"Two more worlds. And you come home. We will be here waiting for you."

Jen lingers by the screen. Stark has it set for two buttons that are needed to press to help Izabella control her powers. Walters does as she’s told upon receiving a signal. Once the foursome evaporate with Izabella's hand gestures, she switches her screen to check in on the Center, plasters a smile on her face and checks in via video chat with the list of adopted children and their families. 

If Bruce and Natasha were responsible for Lucy should anything happen to her, she feels just as responsible for those adopted metas, the kids Bruce and Natasha treated like their own.

So she smiles, despite it all;

"What's up, Violet? How's it going, girlfriend?"

* * *

Her eyes narrow, a gun goes off and it strikes right in the middle of the bullseye. It's somewhat satisfying to watch her kill fall dead to the ground. Suddenly all those hunting trips with Clint and Laura have amounted to something. In what was once a bizarre tundra, turned out to be a beautiful forest within a six month time jump.

Natasha bites at the inside of her cheek and ducks down behind her cover, a rock, to check her ammo.

"Shit," she whispers under her breath. It’s her last magazine and she’s down more bullets than expected. 

Stepping out from her position, wearing a high slitted skirt she had fashioned herself and her longer curly hair tied up in a messy ponytail, she walks closer to the creature on the floor. She bravely checks for her kill. It's a large bird of sorts, and Bruce is going to skin her alive instead, as soon as he finds out she's hunting when they already have plenty of food back at their makeshift shack. 

He's used to life on the run and his quick adaption to new deserted places is nearly unsettling to her. He’s set up everything quickly but to sit around hide and do nothing isn’t Natasha’s style. 

Bruce has been raging out, hulking out more frequently since they got there, which doesn't exactly help them on the whole "blending in" and making friends part. Apparently, they're feared overall by people they haven't even met yet, people who live miles out in the presumed closest city, which is why they don't even bother approaching anymore. It's better this way. There are talks of a green terrifying creature lurking and it won't exactly help their case if Bruce accidentally Hulks out in the middle of the city market. On other aspects, the language overheard during some recon walks is mostly undescribable, and there's little in the way of technology and advancements. Romanoff has had days where she almost dares to wish they were stuck with Elizabeth Ross 2.0 again...

Right now she wants meat, some sort of sustenance that's not a fish with eight tails, glowing berries, or any more of that sour leafy mushroom soup Bruce swears by (She knows he's acting; he hates that soup more than she does).

The animal she's caught is the most normal thing she has seen yet...kind of resembles a Turkey in some ways.

She knows Alex will enjoy half of it. And she will be using every part of the bird to smooth things over a bit more with Bruce, a peace offering of some sorts. Though, he'll still be mad that he won't be able to prove if it’s disease free, probably most upset he wasn't able to study the animal before she killed it.

She cringes when she gets to touching distance of the bird, twirling her knife in one of her mud covered hands. The kill is easy, dissecting a body rather than hiding or burying isn't as natural. 

Her once white cami has been quickly covered with dirt, she realises as she leans over to bag her kill. Almost as if fate is persistently getting a kick out of toying with her, her hair tie snaps, red waves dropping over her shoulder and in her face. She huffs an exhale to blow her bangs out of her face, lifts her sack with the bird inside and starts to head back on their marked trail.

Natasha whistles once she's close enough to their makeshift home, shielding her eyes from the sun to look up at a shirtless Bruce patching up the side. She can admire a good view when she sees one.

She shifts into her hip, exposing most of one leg from her high-slit do-it-yourself skirt and hoping he’ll notice;

"A little tan looks good on you." She announces.

His curls are a mess from all the dirt and time outside, he pants from exortion due to his handiwork and use of the flimsy tools he was able to find.

If Hulk isn't roaring, they're facing down on some kind of animal. Thankfully, the big green third wheel they call Hulk, can have his uses when it comes to defending their self-claimed territory. Unfortunately it usually means the shack gets destroyed in the process.

He looks down toward the redhead, up in a tree for height-a makeshift ladder;

"Where did you run off to?"

She shrugs, the bag slung over her shoulder, "I got bored. Took a walk."

"And rolled around in the dirt?" He smiles at her scoff and shakes his head with a playful tone, "You're not dragging mud into the house, I just cleaned it." As clean as a wooden, branch-ie shack can be...

"I'll go bathe in the river if you join me," she offers with a coy smile.

He shakes his head with an overall tired and vacant expression, swatting a bug from his cheek.

"Yeah, maybe."

She sets her bag near their bonfire debris from the night prior, "Do you need a hand up there?"

"Nope. It's basically done. But thanks anyways."

He's more agile than she once thought, eager to watch him climb and jump down from his tree. Clearly years on the run means you make do.

She'd be interested to see him try parkour. He'd probably outwit the competition- if they're ever in a city with buildings again. She's learning more about him, and he about her without the distraction of work and technology.

Surprisingly, being stuck in the middle of nowhere is starting to feel more like the honeymoon they always wanted and never got. Even if it's an odd adventure, with a few more dangers and unwanted Hulk appearances, she wasn't complaining...too much.

Natasha smiles and touches his cheek once she's close enough, watching him melt with his eyes closing over her contact.

He holds her wrist, both of their hands a bit more cut up and calloused than they've ever been before. His eyes are stuck on hers;

"I'm sorry, Natasha. I never wanted this for you-."

She shakes her head, dismissing every thought, regret, longing immediately, "What; Peace? Space? Freedom?"

He scoffs, "Unpredictability. A house made of...whatever that is. Hiding."

Natasha looks over his shoulder at the home and he swings around to stand beside her. She laughs;

"I kinda like it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

There's a small eskimo kiss before Bruce talks again; "It's crooked on that side. A little lopsided, by about, 3 degrees," he points out the flaw.

The right side of her lip curls up as she points to the roof, "Did you fix the leak?"

"Nah, I left the hole. It's fun when it starts pouring rain in the middle of the night and we wake up soaked." Her hand lifts to slap his shoulder. He laughs, "What? I'm kidding."

Alex barks from around the back, charging at full speed to leap up into Natasha's arms. He's loving his life, spending the days chasing rodents, bugs and birds, rolling in the dirt, washing up on the river...She crouches to pet his head and greet him with a wide smile. Bruce reaches for his last good shirt. It has a few holes, a bit discolored, but it works. He shrugs it on and crouches to meet Alex and Natasha on the ground. The puppy has found a stick, his large tail swinging back and forth. Bruce takes the stick and moves to throw it, not before Alex can lick directly over his face and accidentally over the mouth. Banner cringes with a hack and a spit. Natasha starts laughing;

"Oh my god, Alex. Right in the mouth?! Get your own man, this one is taken!”

Bruce is laughing through the cringe, throwing the stick, "What were you saying about a bath? I suddenly need to go rinse my mouth out…we don't have bleach, do we?"

"Don't even joke about putting bleach in your mouth or I'll kill you."

He's over analyzing the statement. This man needs a new creature to study, some new activity rather than nitpicking degrees in the house or statements from the redhead. She rolls her eyes;

"Don't. Say it."

He takes her hand, kisses her cheek and leads them down the familiar path. Both their laughs are quickly drowned out by the sound of the nearby river.


	2. Faster, Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor pursues the northern monster. Things on Earth begin to change drastically.

As soon as Thor leaves the committee, he decides, with a smile on his face, to head directly to Heimdall. He's eager to share the newest Stark tech with the one person in the realm he knows will appreciate it.

Heimdall reacts with a subtle one sided smirk over Thor's intentions. Thor knows him too well, and he seems far too proud of that after a greeting and some catching up.

"I can see your inventions and findings, how happy they make you," Heimdall says.

Thor smiles, "I knew you'd appreciate them as well, my friend. So tell me. What is it that threatens us in the northern forests? I hear tales of a green creature. A monster, perhaps?"

"This creature is of no threat to Asgard. I do not sense destructive intent-purpose, in its wake. Though, it has been feared by most just with his mere presence,' he concentrates, focused on his duties while he talks with his higher up, 'And it is not alone."

Thor pivots in his pacing, "So there are two? Not one but two of these confusing beings…"

"No- It's...one monster but two travelers. The other one seems human...almost...so breakable. The creature seems as though it is not always a threat. It fades, hides, It goes and comes back. I cannot always see it."

Thor's eyes light up with a clap and a potential realization going off in his head, "Oh my Odin! I shall take my warriors up to the north in the morning!"

"What has changed your mood?"

Thor smiles, "Ah, I shaunt speak too soon. You will see! It is possible these are lost friends of mine. I will uncover the truth of these peculiar matters at sunrise! I need a horse!"

. . . . . . . . 

* * *

Natasha wipes her cheek with a dirty hand, mostly of soot and a bit of blood- not hers, she'll clarify to Bruce before he panics. She’s cleaning her kill before sunrise so as to avoid the inevitable questions.

Romanoff sighs when she sees Bruce at the door with his arms crossed on his chest and a raised eyebrow;

"So, after all these years and you still think you can hide things from me?"

She stands straighter over being caught and lifts a shoulder, "I mean, you were sound asleep."

He shakes his head, closing his eyes in disappointment. He digs a heel, "And you still think I will judge you for being you."

She rolls her eyes, "You're a passive vegan. You're a hippie, no offense. It's going to take a bit more than 7 PhDs to try and change my mind."

He smirks with a half laugh and watches her work, "Hippie huh? We can blame that one on Aunt Susan."

"Can I blame her for your OCD too?"

"That one is all me...it's possible my father had something to do as well- anyways," He moves closer to where she's standing, "Tasha, we're in this together. You're all I've got. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable being yourself, like you have to hide things from me or having some weird need to sneak around because you have a craving? That's dumb. Don't waste your bullets, we can send the Hulk out hunting."

Natasha laughs and looks down at her work. Alex has already smelled it and is circling the vicinity. Her thoughts are suddenly elsewhere when she mumbles;

"Where did we go wrong?"

He doesn't acknowledge right away. They've individually replayed that same night over and over again, only referring to the accident with vague references and remarks. Natasha will talk about Linda only as 'she' and 'her'. And if Linda is in Hydra's grasp, who else is? How many other metas have they accidentally handed over to the enemy?

Bruce bites at the inside of his cheek without an answer and nods toward her project;

"Do you need a hand?"

She laughs, "No, but if you could find some magical berry that we could ferment and turn into wine in a matter of minutes? That would be amazing."

He rolls his eyes with a smile, "Yeah, okay. I'll get right on that. It's a top priority to get my wife drunk."

She lifts and points with her bloody knife, "Okay, listen Vrach; I need to be drunk if you expect me to take one more bowl of that goddamn mushroom soup poison."

He cringes with sour expression, "Ugh, okay. Point taken."

"Ha!,' she corners him, 'So you don't like it either!"

"It's not my greatest recipe! Happy?"

"Beyond. I was starting to wonder if you had suddenly lost your taste buds to the Hulk."

Banner circles her makeshift wooden workstation, intrigued by the smashed up carcass, "What did this thing look like before it met you?" Natasha smiles... _there's her scientist_.

"Just like you did! Sad and lonely, without a purpose."

He glares, "Hilarious."

She shrugs and smiles at him, innocently, taking slabs of her meat to the nearby fire and answers his prior question, "Kind of like a turkey. He looked plump, I was hungry, sorry not sorry. I'll find you a new pet some other time."

The couple look up over a noise off in the distance. It sounds like voices and the voices are getting closer. Natasha gives Bruce a look and checks to ensure her gun is on her hip and flips her knife forward.

Banner bites his lip and crosses his arms after sending Alex to the door, hoping the Hulk won't need to come out and destroy everything they've only just fixed.

They take a stance, she waits behind him while his fingers twitch with a bit of anticipation. She narrows her focus with her legs far enough apart for a charge, holding her two blades out in the same way she would her batons back home.

Coming in on the most brightly colored horse either one of them has ever seen, they share a glance. Natasha nearly drops her knife on her own foot in shock when they call in unison;

"Thor?!"

The demigod has a huge smile, a small militia beyond him when he yells back and leaps from his horse. His cape flows a bit, greeting a barking Alex first;

"My friends!"

Bruce smiles honestly, welcoming the hug his teammate is all too quick to provide. Natasha cringes a bit when it's time for hers- her ribs definitely have stopped welcoming Thor's strong hugs.

A woman on a horse behind him, wearing some kind of white makeup over her cheek, clears her throat, ;

"Is this the green monster or do the handsome hunk and his mortal have a secret pet inside of the...whatever that is. A home, I suppose."

"Excuse me?," Natasha glares, unsure which part of her statement is the most worth snapping over.

Thor rotates and addresses the woman;

"Ah yes! In a manner of speaking this is our monster! But we do not call him a monster, his name is Hulk! Valkyrie; These are my friends from work!" Thor beams.

Valkyrie looks unimpressed, signaling for the rest of the troops to stand down.

"And what exactly brings you to Asgard?"

"Izzy," Natasha answers casually.

Thor crouches once more to pet Alex, "Izzy? Wh- Oh! Lady Mikhailov!"

"Yeah. Our apartment sort of, exploded." Bruce shares with a shrug.

Thor narrows his focus, "An explosion?!"

"We got attacked." Natasha deadpans.

"Attacked?!" The conversation looks mostly like a tennis match, with Thor in the middle not knowing who to look at or what to say.

"Hydra's back." Bruce sighs.

"Hydra?! That...damn octopus..."

"A Hydra isn't an octopus...have you been spending too much time with the mortals, Thor," Valkyrie scoffs.

Natasha laughs, ignoring the woman completely, directing her next words to Thor, "Clearly you haven't been on earth in a while."

"How long have you been in my realm?! Why did you not search to find me?!"

Bruce crosses his arms and checks in with Natasha;

"Err, six months? We didn't...exactly realize we were in Asgard...?" Bruce is somewhat impressed with his mind on Izabella. If only she knew, the young girl would be giddy with excitement to breach another realm...

"It's been a long time," Natasha answers.

"Ah! Well! This is no place to reside! Allow me to take you to my quarters, as you would say. Jane will be delighted to see you! We regret not fetching more horses." Thor pauses looking around him, "Lady Romanoff? Would you enjoy riding with Valkyrie back to the palace?" Thor tries to be welcoming but Bruce cringes over the demigod's judgmental choice of words for their makeshift home. Banner thought it was decent.

"Thanks, but I'll walk," Natasha offers with a glare.

"Oh...uh. Perhaps Dr. Banner and Valkyrie can share a horse-."

"Actually,' she stammers, watching Bruce, guiltily waving toward the beautiful, flirtatious warrior, 'I'd love to ride with Valkyrie."

* * *

Thor is all too happy to tour the couple around his world for the next few hours. To provide comfortable 'Midgard' clothing and warm water. Even Alex gets a bath and bone.

Jane is eager to share her "science" lab with Bruce, tour him around her advancements and research. And both Agatha and Agmundr are excited to see Bruce and Natasha.

Thor introduces his friends to the rest and over dinner begins to ask a bit more about their past six months in the middle of the Asgardian forest. He smiles over their stories;

"I suppose you are anxious to return home, are you not?"

Natasha stops eating her meal. What she was once excited to see on her plate suddenly feels like a twelve pound rock sitting on her stomach. Her head tucks. Bruce taps his plate, quickly losing his appetite as well. His head turns to look toward Natasha.

The thoughts of returning makes them both physically sick. To face the children, deal with Hydra…

To potentially have an enemy in Linda, a child they helped to raise in a way.

Natasha is a fighter who has never been known to shy away from a challenge, or any other situation, really. But, she's tired. She loves the kids. She does. She also loves being an Avenger. But she's so tired of not stopping. Not being able to catch a break... It's selfish, but she quickly pushes that aside;

"This is going to sound a little crazy. At least coming from me,” She starts, fiddling with her napkin.

"Uh oh," Bruce whispers.

She looks up at him, frowning, "Are we really in a rush to return?"

"I mean-, Nat, that's…home. Right?"

"It is...but normal people do have vacations every now and then. We have a right be normal...don’t we?”

"..I guess...we, kind of missed a honeymoon.." Bruce looks indecisive.

"See? Wouldn't it be good for us?

"I guess. Tasha, I just-"

She hugs her elbow, "...all we needed for it to be okay was each other, you're always saying that. Have you changed your mind? Do you need more?"

"Nat. Natasha, that’s not it. Of course I don't need _more_. I don't need anything else but you to feel complete, I just-. Well I guess,' he nods and sits back, 'I mean I'm not really in a rush to go back either...per say…"

"Right, so-."

"Ah!,' Thor interrupts, 'Well I have a bit of a dilemma if that intrigues you. Lady Romanoff, I know you are a master spy! Warriors in Asgard are trained more in combat than the spy...thing you and Barton are so famous for! Turns out I am in need of a warrior such as yourself here in Asgard. There are some new recruits of whom you could aid in training, testing loyalties. That sort of thing.."

Valkyrie spits her drink across the table. "You're not serious about having this mortal join us-."

The redhead narrows her glare to the woman, leaning forward on the table;

"I don't know what your problem is with me but I'm open to settling this on the battlefield. Combat to death, maybe."

"Nat." Bruce warns, rolling his eyes. She looks at him offended and he tries to hide a smile behind a fake cough. Natasha scoffs.

"There is no problem at all..we have just never had a mortal-." Valkyrie says.

Bruce intervenes again, "If I may...She might look human but I assure you, her skills are anything but that. She's one of the most talented, murderous, Uh, earth warriors and all of that-."

"I quite agree! And you Dr. Banner,' Thor pivots, 'Can work alongside Jane in the department of advancements and inventions!"

"Great, then. It's settled. We're staying! And we’d like to keep this between the...well however many people are at this table. Aka, confess our whereabouts to Stark and I’ll strangle you.”

”Nat, why? They’re going to be worried about us...”

“I’ve been judged my whole life! I’m over it. I deserve some peace. Bruce we always talked about...I just-. I want a little peace. A little privacy,” Natasha speaks for the both of them. He agrees with a sigh, forcing a grin. Natasha taps the table and looks back at Thor, "When can I start training?"

"Sunrise,' Thor nods excitedly and pours them all a drink, 'We shall proceed as discussed and when you are ready to return home, I will be happy to escort you! ...We shall 'cheer' now as the mortals do! To Midgard!"

Sif grumbles, Valkyrie lifts two glasses filled to the brim;

"Drinks!"

Natasha lifts hers with an appreciative nod, "Okay, now I like her!"

Bruce quietly sips, his eyes on Natasha and Natasha alone. There's concern in his stare for his wife. She's never been the one he thought would be the first to hide away from something just because it's hard to confront face to face. She's avoiding the elephant in the room….again. It’s a habit he knows she has but he believed they were beyond this. 

It's days before he even thinks of trying to talk to her about it. By then it's seemingly too late. She's, surprisingly, bonded with Valkyrie, enjoying time with Agatha and Agmundr. And Bruce thinks that maybe... _maybe,_ it's better this way.

Asgard is peaceful, the Hulk isn't really needed for his brute force. He's no longer a weapon but a friend. It works. Natasha and the Hulk get to train, Bruce gets to science with Jane...

It works.

Maybe he's avoiding the topic too. Just like Natasha. He's pushing his thoughts aside, the desire to return home, to see Tony, hug Antonia, to see Brody and train with Izabella, to piss off Clint just for the fun of it, to mess in his lab again…

Bruce knows Nat misses that too. Clint specifically when she shared stories of her skilled archer friend to Thor’s twins. But she's happy. And it's easier to just keep the status quo.

* * *

Bruce is far more preoccupied with Jane Foster and her more scientific endeavors as of late. While Natasha finds herself working harder than she thought to become a warrior accepted in Asgard. They are 80% women. The women lead, they trained, and not exactly Red Room style...It was better, even beautiful. She's even starting to feel a bit over confident and when she asks Sif about going a level up, she scoffs in her face;

"Good luck even making it into the program, mortal."

It's probably not as condescending as it might sound, coming from a demigod who is genuinely concerned for her safety as Natasha is one of Thor's closest Midgard friends.

Nevertheless, Natasha takes it as a dare and enrolls, her heart plummets, humiliated, when she's placed in the Beginners class, surrounded by teenagers.

She realises her mistake when there are rules she doesn't know, complicated customs to learn and centuries of unknown traditions to upload. She keeps up, with her newfound determination to be the best. To outsmart her opponent no matter the circumstances and its costs. She needs this, much to Bruce's dismay.

But Thor ends up removing her- practically bans her. After a week of training, the Demigod thinks she's a peril to herself and needs some kind of grounding time. What makes his decision final is the remark Bruce confides to him; concerned about Natasha's safety after one practice gone wrong that left her too bruised for his, and the big guy's, taste.

Natasha heads straight for Thor's quarters after receiving the news from Valkyrie, knowing exactly where to find Bruce. She pulls back the heavy curtain that works as a door, in a ripple of fury;

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Bruce falters once he realizes she's talking to him. He stands and moves away from Thor, looking to put some distance between the three of them for safety’s sake;

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, you think you're so smart, Banner. But you're a coward, you would rather go to your new best friend before coming to your wife, to me!”

”Nat- hold on. Just tell me what’s going on?”

”What the hell did you tell him?! I was removed from the program! Did you have me removed?! You have no idea how hard I've been training for this!"

"Nat-"

"I did it. She has been banned from the training. You said she was too easily injured, did you not?” Thor volunteers, raising his hands in defense.

"You! Ugh…!," Natasha punches the wall closest to her.

Bruce sighs, "Can you give us a minute? Please, Thor?"

"Yes, indeed! I shall leave you to your...domestic dispute," he hurries out of the room. Seemingly vanishing.

Bruce tilts his head, looking at Natasha with apologetic eyes, "I honestly didn't think he'd go to the extreme of banning you. I promise, I was just worried-."

"Worried about me?! Bruce, I don't need you to worry about me."

"Yeah okay, tell me that when you come home with four broken ribs. Or how about when you ended up falling asleep at random because you forgot to tell me about a hit to your head? A concussion Natasha! You know how I feel about head injuries and you don’t have the best track record with those so don’t-! Cut me off I’m talking! Nat...please be realistic about this. See the size of the people you're training with. Even the experience! You once said that you hadn't been trained to fight against aliens. Suddenly that doesn't apply anymore?"

"Cry me a river,’ She mutters, angrily, ‘It's my body! I thought after the Red Room, I'd get a say in what I want to do with it! The primary say-.”

"I'm not arguing that! You're right! Of course you are, but Tasha, honey; you're just-!"

"Small?" She practically laughs in his face.

Bruce sighs and shakes his head, "You're not on Earth anymore. These aren’t the same people you used to train with. It's different now."

"I know that," she snaps with a pivot.

Natasha stops on her path and looks up, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. A few minutes of silence pass before she goes over to where Bruce is now sitting and takes his hands into her own, knowing exactly how to reach him when he looks so worried;

"Bruce, I need this.’ She says, searching for his warm brown eyes, ‘I need a new purpose while we're here. I'm not going home. I can't go back to Earth right now and I'm not giving up. I just, I can't."

"I know, I know that," he nods with an understanding, a small smile on his face. "I know that's what you do, who you are. But I worry, I can't help it, it's who I am.

"I can keep up with these girls. I know my limits...I'm the frickin Black Widow, come on." She jokes, hoping for another smile from him, which she gets." Do you trust me?"

She does need this. An outlet, a purpose, a place to feel useful where she doesn’t have to face her past. He nods;

"I trust you."

"Then I'll go back to training with them." She affirms.

"Yes, you will. And you will tell me if you got hurt and need someone to take a look." 

"Not everyone can say they have their very own personal doctor. And hey, mine is pretty cute." She jokes, having Bruce roll his eyes and pull her up in a hug.

"Be smart. Your dorky husband adores you, I hope you know that,” He says followed by Natasha's laugh.

And with that, and after hearing a request from Bruce again, Thor permits her back on the team. It's months of training quickly turned into a full year before she's even accepted on the next challenge.

Natasha is a fast learner and with a personal doctor back home quickly learning about Asgardian remedies, she's never left with an injury on her body for more than a week.

It's fulfilling to be able to keep up with the Masters and fight her way closer to the top. Her personal goal as of now is to beat Sif's record. And even if that's impossible, having the idea in and over her head encourages Natasha to keep fighting. It's somewhat therapeutic to learn without having to murder her teammates in the process...literally. She's a mentor to the up and coming, sharing some spy knowledge that lends itself to its own program of which Thor has put her in charge of.

She prepares Bruce a surprise dinner that day, chipper and accomplished. 

It's a fulfilling few years for the Banner couple. Being in Asgard feels safe and far enough away from the problems currently facing Midgard that they never really bother to ask about.

Thor is too busy to visit Earth much more and Jane is content to keep the terror twins far away from humanity. School is easier when their classmates can easily knock them down.

* * *

Stopping to see Betty Ross 2.0 was a mistake Tony quickly regrets, stirring up her worries. She sends them off on their next adventure with some extra tech that might give them an advantage in finding their lost friends.

Another quick stop to chat with one of the alternate Hulks and his family is next; it turns out his wife Caeira, who is as smart and as impressive as she looks, has a few useful contacts with favors left to call in.

A week on the strange Hulk Planet, yes, that's the name of the planet, and Clint is starting to close his heart and lose any hope he had left.

Over in another Universe, Steve has found a few familiar doppelgängers of his own, most notably, one James Buchanan Barnes, 'Bucky' for his friends and family.

Tony's promise to Pepper to search only 'two more worlds' turns into 8 more. On the ninth Izabella is starting to numb up and it's Tony's last push to finally head home. Steve respects the call and they decide to share it with Jennifer.

Walters doesn't accept 'quitting' as a viable option, which has her permanently relocating to New York. At least she can be closer to Izabella and to the scene of the 'crime', should things miraculously reverse. She also has that self idealised debt to be there for the rest of the meta children…

With the press pounding down the door, Tony finally decides to make an official call with Nick Fury at his side.

The front of the tower is lined with reporters, questioning the strange activity in the tower and the absence of Dr. Banner and Natasha Romanoff for the past year.

Pepper stands beside Tony Stark, Nick Fury flanking his other side, as they step outside to face the crowd. The questions sound mostly like white noise to him, the flashes from the local cameras like a persistent slap to the face. The mic squeaks when he moves close and utters his statement emotionlessly. He blames their death on Hydra, holding their planted bomb responsible.

It's a decision Fury backs; pinning it all on the organization. And it's Steve's idea to leave Izabella and Linda out of it.

Tony's demeanor changes when he addresses the camera, brutal in his threat to shred apart anyone with negative intentions that comes within one hundred feet of him and his family. A vow of vengeance with a desire to Avenge his fallen teammates, his closest friends.

A few weeks later and there's a funeral to make things more official. It's quite the public event, to show the world that the couple is truly gone. Tony is starting to believe it, as is Clint, who is missing from the 'funeral'.

He is up in Maine, residing in his new cabin with his family. He has officially quit from all SHIELD's duties and has enrolled in therapy for the first time in his life thanks to Laura’s persistence. He tries to focus on his wife and their two boys.

The meta kids are all emotional wrecks but the loudest voices are that of Jennifer and John, arguing constantly over the phone. He refuses to show up, begging for her to come 'home'. She refuses and within a month, their goals, hopes and futures no longer align.

Lucy moves in with her mother after a bitter divorce between her parents, angry over her relocation and wishing she could've stayed in California. The fact that the baby ‘she-hulk’ and half wolf got into a bitter fight makes the separation even more brutal for Jennifer. Protecting Lucy will always be her primary concern no matter how sorry John is for hurting her- no matter how badly Lucy wants to take it all back and reverse the fight from ever happening. Lucy loves her dad but that red zone she slips into due to her powers is far too powerful. She can barely remember anything once her yellow eyes turn to that dreaded gold...and her powers are getting stronger. 

Tony decides to leave New York, soon after he realizes it's all too much for him and that he needs a break from being a hero. Like Pepper said so long ago, Antonia deserves a free start with her father close to her. So, the Starks close the tower, sell it off for SHIELD's new headquarters and move to Malibu.

Steve Rogers decides to stay, helping Jen with the kids. He also works under Maria Hill's leadership with SHIELD. Something in the back of his mind still hears Natasha's ambition, her fighter's spirit. And so he fights. Indirectly adopting the Mikhailov siblings in the process.

Fridays are for the kids. He'll pick them up from Svetlana's for ice cream and a lesson; some sort of 'old man wisdom hour' is what Brody calls it.

The boy enlists in the army on his 17th birthday. Izabella pursues nursing school and Violet Perez is deciding to take a gap year as soon as she graduates.

Word is that Amelia is on route to become a successful engineer, though no one has heard from her in years- Jennifer Walters is the last to have had contact with her. She also has regular calls with Michael: a future therapist, Kat; A future funeral director, and Brock the NBA star. 

The rest of the now almost adult metas are scattered all over; foreign exchange students, pursuing their dreams while Lucile Elaine Jameson works her way through community service and not voluntarily.

It's a court order; The once promising dancer is now hopping in and out of the juvenile detention center instead of attending high school like any girl her age should be. It puts a bit of a dent in Jen's perfectly clean record and suddenly finding clients it's a challenge.

Walters pivots her focus and offers her services exclusively to metas. Still putting into practice her Law education and knowledge, she focuses on providing help to other super powered individuals with a special interest in children and teens.

She thinks that's something Bruce would have liked to see her do. And she does it with her cousin in mind. Maybe, thanks to her, kids won’t have to go through what Banner did as a child.   
  
Thor is still missing, the old quality Stark tech is suddenly unable to reach the demigod. It’s as though the line as gone dead. Maria Hill, involved with SHIELD more than ever, decides to close the file on the demigod and pull him from the initiative.


	3. I Dare You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick Fury and Steve Rogers try to wrangle their bench players to help find and take down Hydra.

"And when I swung down off the building and hit the bus?! I had no idea the train was coming! All those people- I had to do something right? I mean you're a hero too, you know? We have a duty to protect people! And I'm really good at swinging and stuff!"

Jennifer nods and lifts a hand. The boy is full of spunk and she already likes him.

His aunt seems equally as passionate, although concerned for her nephew. There's something about "Aunt May" that reminds her Aunt Susan. The way the older woman is trying to remind the boy to breathe while she shoves those large glasses further up her face…

She reaches for Walters' paperwork;

"Okay, it's alright, Peter. Take a breath every once in awhile. So, where are the hidden fees; I doubt this covers everything, sounds too good to be true. Where do you get us?"

Jennifer folds her hands on top of her desk and crosses a knee, "I don't 'get' you, I help you. And if you want my help, that's the cost. I'm not a mean person, I do payment plans. And, I don't think Peter's case is a difficult one-."

The boy turns between the lawyer and his aunt, interrupting the former. "-I really just wanted to save the people on the bus- It was on instinct. I didn't really have time to stop and think about the damage it could cause...I tried to make it as small as possible considering..."

The two women nod, slowly. Peter Parker was right. It really wasn't his fault. There wasn't enough time to be aware of the injuries that his actions caused- the minimal scratches compared to the casualties that would have occurred had he not taken immediate action.

Jen offers a smile, "Some people are just a little ungrateful when you save their life. It's a thankless job."

"I think I know that now, Miss Walters."

She lifts a photograph of the incident, rotating it sideways to get a better view of the red mask over his face, "Do you need a bit of a suit upgrade? I might have a contact…"

"I don't think he needs a suit," The aunt throws a forced laugh through her remark.

Jennifer moves to answer but her ringing phone cuts her off. Seeing Lucy's girlfriend's name pop up on her screen can't be a good sign, even if said girl is the daughter of Trish Walker, one of her closest best friends, the woman almost never calls unless it has something to do with Lucy.

The lawyer stands with an eye roll and an apology for Peter Parker and his aunt. She slips into the hallway;

"Hello?"

"Miss Jenny, I'm so sorry to bother you," the young woman starts with a sigh.

"It's okay, what's up?"

"I haven't heard from Lucy in a few days and I'm getting a little worried. I went by the apartment and she wasn't there- I wanted to check if she's been in touch with you?"

Jen circles outside her office, trying to keep her voice low, "I haven't heard from her- no. You could try...maybe try her,' she swallows, not even wanting to say his name, 'You could try her father."

She sighs again, "Okay. I'm sure it's fine..the usual. I'm sorry to bother you."

"It's okay Jessie, you don't have to apologize. Call me if you get in touch with her?"

"I will. Bye."

A voice makes Jen look up from her phone, a deep soft pitch asking her if everything is okay. She forces a smile amid dialing her daughter;

"Sam, hi. Steve, good to see you."

"Ma'am," Rogers nods with a wave.

Sam Wilson hugs her with a smile and repeats his question, "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine,' she fumbles with her device, swearing under her breath when she hears Lucy's voicemail inbox is full, 'Just the typical- mother/daughter issues. What are you boys doing here?"

He shrugs and addresses the clients on her office through the window;

"I figured I'd stop by. To see what the smartest lawyer in New York City looks like when she's in her element...still green apparently."

"Always green," she corrects with a bit of a far off stare and her mind still on Lucy.

Steve coughs to interrupt the flirty twosome, internally gagging, "Actually we're here to let you know about the Stark event. We're all invited. SHIELD got the invites."

"Tony's in town,' She looks shocked, 'That's. Unexpected."

"Suspicious, if you ask me. Which is why it would be great if you could, come, and attend at bare minimum. Having the She-Hulk around could detract any unwanted guests. SHIELD is the registered security for the event, hence why they have the tickets."

"Wow, Tony. So it's happening.. We haven't talked since…,' she drifts in thought, her mind on the incident at the tower, 'Hey, you know what? I'm a little busy with a client, so…maybe send me the details and let me get back to figuring out where the hell my daughter is-."

Sam lifts a hand, "Do you need me to scan the city for Lucy? You seem worried about her."

The lawyer forces a laugh, "You might need to scan the whole country, knowing her. But don't, please. She's a grown woman now...if she needs anything she'll call me,... right? She has her own place, she doesn't need me... She has made that very clear..."

He lifts an eyebrow, "I can search the city…"

Jen nods with a bit of relief and let's her guard down, "Could you? Would you? It's just that Jessie was worried so now I'm worried- I'm so sorry-! If it wouldn't be a problem."

"It's no problem,' he laughs, 'A mother's work doesn't just stop because they turn eighteen, it seems."

She bites her fingernail and frowns slightly, "Yeah? That doesn't scare you away? A half Hulk troublemaker…"

"No,' he laughs, 'We got this. We'll find her."

She makes a face with a concerned eye roll, he taps at her tall shoulder with a hand and heads out with Steve;

"You got this."

"Thank you," she mouths and quickly returns to her office to wrap things up with Peter.

* * *

  
"Deja vu."

"You and me both," Maria scoffs over an agent's plain remark, watching the figure on their screen swinging into the desired building and taking charge of a mission to collect intel from Hydra.

Their figure has the moves, the means, and the skill to tackle her victims in an extremely familiar manner. And the suit doesn't help the resemblance to her favorite mentor, Natasha Romanoff.

The familiarities only stop when she pivots to manage the desk area. When the first drawer opens, she looks up and reaches a hand in, her eyes closed behind her mask while her hand feels for the contents of the drawers.

The Blind Bandit (coined by the nerdy Garrett Barton) has managed to quickly work her way to the top. A master spy and super soldier in training. Using her heightened abilities and brain power to read her surroundings, collect information- all with the goal of taking Hydra down and avenging the second closest thing to a 'mother' she has ever had in Natasha.

Riley moves quickly, responding to the quip her actual adoptive mother gives her to confirm that she has the information they need.

"Get out. Agent Marks is ready to disembark," Maria tries to keep her more motherly worries out of her tone while they're at work.

The day that the adoption contract 'expired', Riley applied for SHIELD's official training program and was immediately accepted. Her focus is and has always been to take down Hydra, to go toe to toe with the human bomb, Linda, who keeps evading her every chance they seem to get too close.

Maria almost loses her breath mid work day, whipping around too fast in her standing position to see Garrett Barton standing behind her. She clutches her chest when her heart jumps;

"How the hell did you get in here?!"

He shrugs and snaps his gum, Maria's eye twitches, she also spots a bouquet of tulips in his arm, "Is Riley back yet?"

"No," Maria hands a tablet over to one of her fellow agents, hardly giving the boy the time of day. She waves to signal her team to keep the doors locked next time, not in the mood for any interruptions.

"Oh. Well I can wait," he moves to sit on a nearby bench.

Maria forces a smile and takes the flowers, "She'll be a few hours- days, even! So, if that's okay with you, I'll take those, thank you for stopping by but off to Maine you go. Tell your mother I said 'hello'."

Garrett laughs, tucks a hand into his jacket pocket and shrugs, "Okay. I guess I'll call her tonight. I'm in New York for the weekend. Dad and I, we're hunting upstate- and I'd like to see Riley. Would you tell her I came by?"

"Mmhm, sure," Maria holds her forced expression and rushes him to the door.

Moments after forcing Garrett to leave, Riley arrives through the back door. Her dark hair tied up in a tight bun, wearing one of the infamous suits of the Black Widow, except the red hourglass has been painted teal green.

She bites her gloves off, "Mission accomplished."

Maria scrambles to toss the flowers onto the desk and leads her in the opposite direction with a hand on Riley's shoulder. The young girl frowns and her nose squishes;

"I smell tulips."

An agent interrupts, knowingly against Maria's wishes, "Garrett is in New York. He just stopped by."

"Oh?," Riley's face lights up. She pivots. The Tower is her second home at this point. She knows every room, every path. Her senses lead her to the desk so she reaches to feel for the stems and the small tag attached. It's punched in Braille. Badly punched, but an attempt nonetheless. Based on Riley's reaction he's written something sweet.

Maria crosses her arms disapprovingly and glares at her employee, "Thank you, Dawn! Do you have anything else to do?"

The agent ducks out and moves to sort through the data Riley collected on her mission.

Riley lifts a flower to feel for the bulb, her eyes clouded over when she turns to face the direction of Maria's voice;

"You weren't going to tell me."

Hill rolls her eyes, "Do not read my mind without permission."

"Garrett isn't like his dad-."

"I don't have a problem with Clint,' Maria tugs her top, 'We worked that out a really long time ago."

"Uh huh. You were thinking about it."

"Riley Hill!"

Riley shifts, unable to hide her giddy smirk. She loves the smell of the tulips and the fact that Garrett remembered that fact, gives her butterflies, not to mention his effort at the braille;

"What color are they?"

"Yellow. Your favorite...yellow tulips,' Maria steps beside her daughter, 'He's not long term, isn't he?"

Riley responds with sarcasm, "I graduated last year and he's still here. So, you were wrong about him disappearing right after high school. Garrett and I want to share an amazing future together, here in New York. We want one child, one hunting dog, and a cabin in the mountains. So, like it or not, we're the endgame."

Maria holds her head, feeling Riley trying to breach again, "Riley, I just want you to be smart about this. Make sure he's serious about you. About finding a job-."

"Garret Barton learned braille for me. He's personally delivering flowers to where I work. Also, if you'd just accept his application for the job, we'd have it so much easier," she states matter of factly.

"He cannot complete simple math tests, let alone properly shoot a weapon. I can't arm him with a gun, and with Hydra's continuous attacks? SHIELD simply is not the place for him. It's not about his abilities, or lack off, it's about his safety."

"I wish you wouldn't judge him. He's gotten better with his aim. And more importantly, mother, he loves me. I know he does, he doesn't lie about anything he tells me." She pauses to take a deep breath. "I'm bringing him to the Stark Gala tonight if he can come. He's my plus one,' she rotates and lowers the flower on the desk with a bit of exasperation for this ongoing conversation, 'Anyways, I need to go change. How'd I do on the field?"

Maria smiles proudly, wishing Riley would breach her mind in that moment to understand the depth of her love and affection for the girl, "Great. Go check in with the medical team and then you can clock out. Tai, for dinner tonight?"

"Cool."

Hill sighs once she's left alone, snatching up the makeshift note from Garrett to translate it herself.

* * *

  
Izabella blows her hair away from her forehead, handing Svetlana her medicine with a bit of coaxing in her mother tongue. It's harsh, a little threatening but it does its job. Svetlana takes the capsule with a grumble and a shaky hand, swallowing her pills.

Izabella's aunt is too young to be this ill. And if things were different, she'd warp her aunt to Betty Ross 2.0 for a cure, but her powers are rusty from lack of usage...and she has no desire to 'dust them off' for now.

Taking off her scrubs from class, Izabella changes into a skirt and snatches up the jacket on the rack, heading out for her monthly trip to the cemetery.

With her new shorter hair, highlighted with a hint of red, and that same crystal around her neck with the emerald and ruby stones, she borrows Svetlana's car. Her next step is to seek out those pesky orange calla lilies to lay at the headstone labeled for The Hulk and the Black Widow. Even Alex has a mention.

It's the same way she used to care for her actual parent's graves back home in Russia. With care and a prayer...except for the current couple, she blames herself for their disappearance. And all that has occurred throughout the past few years is convincing enough for her to believe they are in fact gone.

It's a full moon tonight...she smiles to herself. They would've loved that. And to take a walk through Morningside to get a view of the stars.

Izabella isn't entirely surprised when she crosses paths with Nick Fury, there to offer Natasha his traditional black rose. He's not a frequent visitor, but Izabella knows when he's missing his daughter from another father, they'll collide.

Nick waits beside her, staring forward at the stone when he finally mumbles;

"Natasha would hate all of this fuss. I'm imagining her flipping us off right here where we stand."

Izabella chuckles with a closed mouth grin. She responds with her chin tucked and a red bang over her forehead, "Graves are not for the dead; they exist for the living. To help us cope. Keep those we love alive in some, odd way."

He barely reacts and refuses to respond to her statement. With a small pivot he lifts a finger;

"Tony Stark; he's in town for a gala Saturday night. You should go."

She laughs half heartedly, "Mr. Stark does not want to see me, believe me. I have failed him over twenty times…twenty dimensions."

"I wouldn't be so sure,' he hums, 'People grow, they move on."

"We haven't," she mumbles.

He nods, handing her an invitation after a moment, "Think about it. You might see a few familiar faces. It'll be nice,"

"If you say 'it'll be nice' you're just wishing for the apocalypse, now,” She jokes.

"Kid."

"I don't think anyone but Steve still likes me. I left all of that hero past behind," she adds, doubtfully.

Fury grins, "You know who was exactly like you?" He asks, to which Izzy shakes her head, frowning. “Your favorite mentor. When I sent Romanoff off to Calcutta to fetch him for SHIELD work. What's funny is that without Banner we would've never won against the Chitauri in New York. And Riley and Hill are still hunting down Hydra. It would help if we could-."

"-I'm sorry, I'm not really interested."

"You need to be a little braver, Miss Mikhailov. Think about it."

Izabella bites her lip. That hurts and she's not entirely sure why. As if she's letting her 'father' down by not matching his achievements in some way. She lifts the flap on the envelope to read the details with a low chin.

He calls back and repeats himself, "Think about it. She'd want you to. They both would."

"I messed up. They're gone because of me."

He waits in the silence. With a tap on her shoulder he pivots to leave, "They are gone because of Hydra. You did your best, no one is perfect."

Izabella sighs over the thought and fiddles with the emerald stone on her necklace. Fury knows how to hit a nerve...

* * *

  
"Honey, I'm home," Lucy deadpans and throws her keys onto the floor.

Jessica Walker throws the phone from her lap and into the window, mid rage with her eyes wide;

"Where-THE-HELL-have-you-been?! I had to call your mother! She had no idea where you went either! What is wrong with you?"

Lucy snorts, looking physically off with her dilated pupils, and smudged eyeliner, "Girl, you are so dramatic. Why the fuck would you call my mother?"

"You were gone for four days, Lucy! Come on,' Jessie shouts and backs up, holding her girlfriend back from her attempts at kissing her, 'I'm serious! Can you be serious for a minute? God damn it!"

Lucy groans loudly and collapses onto the couch in her camo sweats, combat boots and white tank top stained with dirt and a little blood. Her hair is still that perfect pixie cut with a floppy bang, one blue tinge down the middle;

"You're such a drag sometimes! I swear-."

"Lucy! Stop! Where were you?" Jessie maintains eye contact and sits in front of her, "Can you sit up and have an adult conversation with me? Please?" She says softly.

Lucy grumbles and clears her throat. Forcing herself to sit up, she reaches into her bra to pull out clumps of cash. It's one crumpled bill at a time, tossing them onto the table with a smug grin over her face.

Jessie huffs a sigh, hand over her face. She knows exactly where Lucy is making her money and also knows that every single dollar she's pulling out is illegal. When she's finished Jessica stands;

"What is wrong with you?! You're not thinking, at all! You're abusing your powers, you're illegally fighting- AGAIN. What happens if you get stuck in the red zone?! What if you seriously hurt someone again, Lucy?"

The Jameson girl rolls her eyes and moves for the fridge;

"You won't be whining when we miraculously have rent paid on time this month-."

"I don't need you to help with the rent, and even less this way- I need you to be safe, I-Look at me!," Jessie snaps.

Lucy moans and complies, only after opening a beer.

Jessie pinches her temples, borderline on edge. If she could win that fist fight she'd start one right here and now;

"Oh please, give me a little credit. I've been by your side since our freshman year! I've stood by you through so much; your parents divorce, during your arrests- Lucy! Stop doing what you're doing for a second and look at me!"

Jessie is almost in tears. Lucile is almost laughing by this point, to numb her own pain, unable to process emotion while her ADD takes over. With reddened cheeks she points;

"Do you remember, tenth grade with-."

"Lucy! I ugh-."

"What?! Why are you being so dramatic right now?!"

"Oh, I'm dramatic, you think I'M being dramatic right now," Jessie points to herself. She's somewhere between a complete breakdown and bawling there in the studio kitchen. She nods instead;

"I'm done."

Lucy groans, pivoting to block Jessie from the door , "Done? What- why? Baby, I love you-."

Her girlfriend huffs a sigh, pocketbook over her shoulder, "You know what, other than beating people to a pulp I don't think you even know what you love. Gosh Lucy, I don't even know who you are anymore. The one thing I'm sure of is that you clearly don't want me anymore."

"Wait, What?..no-But baby-."

"Stop, please. I've been patient with you, I've stood by your side and took care of you, I've asked you over and over again to stop abusing your powers like that. You're not even listening to me anymore! You have started to disappear for days without a warning! You want to keep acting like that? Fine! Honestly? I'd rather you went and joined SHIELD, or even Riley! But don't just- ugh! I go around and around in circles with you. This isn't working...you don't even listen..."

"Jess! Baby come on. I love you."

"Don't,' Jessie lifts a forceful finger, 'You need to get out of my way. If you loved me? If you really loved me? You'd listen to me. I'm leaving. For good this time. Call me when you're ready to be an adult and talk about things- you know what?! No! I deserve better than this!"

"You won't find better!"

"Asshole."

"You know what?! Go. Fine. I don't care!"

Jessie stops and turns over her shoulder with a huffed exhale. With the amount of drama she's put up with from the now woman she loves, she should have received a peace prize. Honored in front of millions. She just shakes her head. Her eyes are full of tears and disappointment when her voice lowers;

"I loved you, Lucy. That's what hurts the most about all of this. I'm going to let your mother know you're alive but after that I never want to hear from you or family again-."

"You don't mean that-."

"I do! Just-! Stay away from me. I've stood by you! I've bailed you out of shit- and you can't even talk to me. Tell me why the hell you think it's okay to go off the grid and- and! To expect me to wait for you to get your act together?! Wait for you to figure this out?! Whatever this is..."

"No but-. Jess? Jess come on."

The woman shakes her head and slams the door behind her. Lucy pivots and collapses on the sofa. She's a little drunk and a bit high from her night. Blood on her cheek and bicep, staining her shirt, from one of her latest victims.

This isn't the first time Jessica has walked out on her but it certainly feels like the last. And with her mind racing in a million different directions, rather than being able to process or hunt down the woman she's loved for the past few years, she grabs a drink- Nah, the bottle, and moves to sit on the couch and scroll through the news.

It's the standard- the infamous Blind Bandit once again making the headline. She's the master of disguise apparently...Lucy snorts over the wardrobe choice and the blurb about her fashion sense. Riley would probably kill someone for commenting on her wardrobe rather than her skills. It happens all the time on the news. Riley constantly corrects her audience and the people who interview her.

She scrolls up…

Antonia Vivian Stark, in her barely five inches and fancy hair, heads up the rest of the fashion page with her newest faux fur apparel and high end handbag.

"What are you, 5?, well…,' she maths in her head, 'God, you're fucking 8? Almost 9. Spoiled little bitch. You do you girl."

' _Deserve better…_ '

Jessie's words ring in her ear...Lucy shuts her tablet in another ADD moment, checking her phone when it dings with, yet, another text from her mother. She doesn't bother to read it, biting her thumbnail…

She jumps off the couch and stands in the middle of the room, working the tendons on her hands and taking a few deep breaths. She tilts her head up and closes her eyes. Her fingertips are buzzing…

Diving to the coffee table, she reaches for her tablet to check the time, debating on sending a message to Jessica. There's no point.

She opens an app and scrolls through a bunch of faces. Someone to meet up with and fix her loneliness. No one even remotely resembles the gorgeousness that was Jessica Walker, no one who knows her better/longer, swiping right and left amid her extreme low.

The knock on the door receives a mumble and a groan. She shuts her tablet;

"Lucy's not here!"

There's another knock. She tugs at her hair and groans;

"If that's you, mom, I so swear-!”

She's a high mess when she swings the door open, bra strap slipping;

"Holy..Steeb?!"

"Woah," Rogers quickly covers his eyes with a hand and turns around. Not entirely sure if it's merited or not due to her clearly disheveled and intoxicated appearance.

She hiccups. He turns back to face her and nods, one eye peeking from between his fingers, "Ma'am."

"I guess- Do you wanna come in?," He's not exactly who she had in mind but it's still company. She adjusts her strap and opens the door a little wider.

"Thank you," He addresses her remark by taking a step inside her train wreck of a studio apartment.

"Mom sent you?"

"Sort of? It was me or Sam."

She widens her stare, tucks her chin and invites him further inside with a flourish, "Yeah, I'll take you over Sam. Do you wanna drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Your loss."

"How have..uh..how have you been? Your mother seemed concerned."

She shrugs halfheartedly, pouring herself a drink, "Ya know, the girlfriend just broke up with me about ...Eh...an hour or so ago. Mom's blowing up my phone, Jessica’s mom is blowing up my phone; so obviously Trish knows now, Dad wants me back in Cali, I just got bailed out of prison by a buddy of mine-! Oh! And I made about a thousand bucks in some street fights-bucks as in money, I didn't make a thousand of your little war buddy friend. Clarifying... sooo. Yeah! And you?!"

Steve frowns, his mind still processing.

"Uh..I-" he manages to compose himself, taking a seat on the crooked barstool, "Miss Jameson, if you ever want to talk-."

"Ha! No. I've done the whole talking thing! Yeah, it doesn't work. Shocking, I know. Especially because I legit love to talk!"

Steve nods patiently, "Yeah...Well. The offer stands."

"Thanks," she swallows her drink and manages to blurt, her tattoo; a simplified outline of a tribal tiger on her left wrist suddenly more visible from Steve's perspective.

He crosses his arms and offers a smile;

"So I guess I'm here to alert you of a Stark event."

She snorts, "What else is new."

"Have you heard from Tony?"

Lucy cringes and flips her device running on 2% battery life, "Not in a while. He just kinda ditched us. Let's see...hmm. Mom, mom, more mom, Jess, ha! Back from when she loved me...Dad, Trish, daddy, more Jess, Jess and Jess and back to mom, mom and more mom...Jess...yeah no, nope. Nothing actually important."

"Well. Anyways. The thing is that Tony is in town. And we could use some backup in case something goes wrong during his event."

She nearly sends her drink down the wrong pipe, "Excuse me…"

"To act as security. To enjoy a night out."

She cringes, "You asked my mom too, didn't you."

"Maybe. But I'm also asking you, Lucy. With Hydra on our tail, we really need our bench players to be reunited. That's you. That's Riley. It's Brody...We need you guys. Before things get bad. And what better way to reconnect?"

Lucy visibly weighs her options with a laugh and a seesaw motion of her neck, "Yeah hmm. I'm not a hero. That was Izzy's thing and she failed epically. Riley could be ten times the killer bee she is right now if I didn't sting her...You know what I'm capable of. More than anyone else in this world."

"And I trust you."

His words strike a chord. Trust...that's a word she hasn't heard in forever. Not from her girlfriend, her parents, friends…

Steve knows he has her half convinced, he's planted a metaphorical seed so with a swift knock on the table he moves to stand;

"I'll be there. Saturday. I'll have Sam send the details-."

"Ugh. Not Sam, please...you can though. I'll consider it. I'll think about it, would that make you happy, good old' Cap, my man? My main man with a plan?"'

Steve nods with a smile, "That's all I ask for."

She salutes as he exists. He knows his way around by now. It's not the first time Steve has had to find her apartment, the first when she was stranded on the side of Queens Boulevard, the second when she drunk texted him instead of her girlfriend. He's the equivalent of a chill uncle in her mind. Someone who watches out for her...and gosh does that make her miss Bruce! She imagines he'd be the same way. While Aunt Nat splits a margarita with her on Friday nights…

She chugs the rest of her drink and twirls the empty glass in her hands.

Steve trusts her.

But she's no hero, she's never done anything to merit said trust or the title. Why would he come to her for help with Hydra or the gala? It's something that to her it makes no sense at all. She scoffs and moves to step outside onto the patio of her studio apartment for some fresh air.


	4. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bench player Metas and Avengers are reunited at the Stark Gala.

As it's expected; a flashy gala and full on by the time Tony arrives with his family, as always, in style and with top security. 

Antonia gets her standard lecture about staying with Happy Hogan at all times. She mouths her father's speech word for word with a furrowed brow and a scowl;

"...and you call me if anyone even dares to look at you the wrong way. You hit that emergency button- Antonia Vivian!"

The girl stares forward, eyes wide over being caught mouthing him in the back of their limo. She grins innocently and looks up at her father, "Hi, Dad."

"Are you listening?"

"Always."

Tony can't hold back a smile, cupping her chin, "Love you, Half-Pint. Good thing you're half as cute as I am."

She sticks out her tongue. Pepper reaches over their daughter to hold Tony's hand and brushes her daughter's head with a kiss. Antonia looks excitedly out the window, slipping out from between her parents and dazzle the crowd. With a circle she lets her dress flow in the wind, turning her head with a pout and a wink for the perfect shot.

She loves the attention and she knows exactly how to work the press and the cameras.

Tony forces a smile and a wave for a camera, talking through his teeth;

"I hate New York."

Pepper nudges him and forces her own smile, "Don't blame the state. You have something in your jacket."

"A tag?"

"Worse,' she licks her thumb and tries to brush the red stain with her finger, 'Ketchup? Really?!"

He sighs and tilts his head, "Anna wanted a cheeseburger!"

"Sure, blame the kid."

"Where is she-."

"-Hey! Relax. She's fine. She's working the red carpet like it's her runway…Tony?"

"Pep?"

He freezes, pausing on his way outside of the limo.

She smiles, "Seriously; take a breath. Enjoy the evening."

"I can't but thanks for trying," he stands with a wave, eager for the cameras and marches up the path with Pepper on his arm and sunglasses on his face at 6pm.

Maria catches his eye and he swears under his breath, "Who invited that- _you know what_."

"She's a part of the security team for the evening, remember?"

"No. I wasn't informed."

Pepper releases a guttural moan and coughs, "Hello, Agent Hill."

Maria clips her earpiece, "Stark."

"Hill," he finally manages. It's forced, almost like pulling teeth. He responds with snark, "What other surprises am I going to get pissed off about tonight?"

Maria takes her keycard and swipes to let him inside of the rental space, "Empty your pockets for the metal detector."

"Seriously?" ...The Irony.

He whines, Pepper complies and pushes her husband along, "Can you behave, please?"

"I always behave...plus it's my party.”

"Oh, stop that" Maria rolls her eyes.

"Stop what?"

"Being so...Tony?" Maria retorts coldly.

"I missed you too-."

Pepper groans, pushing them through the security system, "Okay, I'm getting hungry and I was promised lobster so...Move along. We can all catch up later. We have all night long once I've had some food in me. Thank you, Maria."

She nods, "You're welcome."

* * *

Izabella is lost but she tries to enter as confidently as she can muster, tugging at her simple purple skirt and elegant white button down. With her hair curled and her lips a shade of red, a swift nod to her mentor. She enters the building with a tug at her shoulder length hair. There are too many people for her liking but she's present, nevertheless. The confidence vanishes the instant she starts to headcount while tugging at the emerald stone on her necklace for comfort's sake...

 _...He'd_ probably drop some sarcastic joke that would make her smile, lead her around and help translate some tech boards...

She's yet to find a familiar face among the lights, the glitz and glam. It's much less educational and much more 'party'...a little too much 'party' for her liking. She's still surprised Fury let her know about the invitation from Tony to such a high end event- and suddenly she feels under dressed. She has no intention of returning to 'hero' duty, but curiosity has taken over.

A tap on her shoulder distracts her from the situation, hands over her mouth when she sees him;

"Brody!"

Her adopted brother scoops Izabella up into a hug, wearing his camo and full on uniform, "It's really bad when I can pick my sister out in a crowd of thousands...literally. What are you even wearing?! It's a gala not a yearbook meeting."

She smiles, ignoring his comments and tightens her arms around his neck, "I miss you so much! What are you doing here?"

He laughs and returns her to the ground, waving a thumb to the right, "The old man called,' so Steve wrangled him…, 'Said it was an emergency. Which, I now no longer believe. Unless for an emergency he meant your fashion picks. No sign of Hydra...What have you been up to? Are you getting my letters?"

"Every letter you send. I am sorry, school has been... crazy," Izabella waves to Rogers with one hand, back to tugging at her necklace with the other.

Steve moves in for a handshake, "Ma'am."

"Captain. Well played. Was Fury a part of this... collecting initiative?" she chuckles.

He shrugs guilt free, content to reunite the siblings.

Sam bothers Steve, on his tiptoes among the crowd and clearly searching, "Anyone seen Jen? She said she was coming…"

Brody scratches his head, "'Jen'? As in, top lawyer She-Hulk Jen? I mean, you're tall and all but Uh...I imagine she'd be hard to miss…?! Big, green, loud and all that."

Izzy nudges her brother, "Hey, now."

"Am I wrong?!"

"I see her,' Sam calls out and slips from the group, 'She's brought a friend or two...hey, you need a boyfriend Izzy? They look about your age."

She scoffs, genuinely uninterested, "No, no thank you."

He snickers, "If you'll excuse me."

Jennifer is heading their way regardless, a young man at her right catching Izabella's eye. Walters greets the group, a special hug for Brody and Izabella prior to introducing her friends;

"This is Peter Parker and this is Rick Jones; my clients. I honestly came mostly because there's a few favors I need to call in with Tony. Peter here, he needs a minute and Rick could use a loan or ...two. Think I can get close enough for a conversation without him cursing at me?"

Steve crosses his arms and sighs, "Good luck."

Rick Jones, the one standing closer to Izabella, offers her a hand, "You know my name but I don't know yours…?"

"Name.." She says, leaving Rick standing awkwardly with his hand out, Izzy stands still, mesmerized by his eyes. Maybe she is interested after all.

"This is Izabella, she's my sister. Hi I'm Brody, her brother, and apparently now it's my turn to have our shared brain cell." Brody makes himself more than clear, interrupting the hand shake to separate that nauseatingly fixating stare Rick has for his adopted sister.

"A pleasure."

"Hmm," Izabella bites her lip nervously, unable to look away from his bright blue eyes, 'You're a client? Of Jennifer-Miss Walter-s. Walters."

"I am."

"Where are you from?" Brody interrogates, frowning.

The boy laughs, "Actually, it's a funny story. I have no idea. I sort of woke up in the middle of...New York with Uh...well limited memories. It's almost ...well it's funny. I explained it to Jen as just this- poof. Like I suddenly just appeared. I know it sounds crazy."

"Huh," The Mikhailov boy doesn't believe him while his sister immediately pities the boy.

Izabella clasps her hands, "Oh no! Not crazy at all. It's New York, crazy things happen here. I suppose. I'm sorry. Well, maybe Brody and I could- show you around sometime."

Rick smiles intending to answer before the other younger boy interrupts with a smile and a handshake of his own;

"Hi! I'm Peter! We're using our real names here right?"

"Nope, they call me the Blind Bandit."

All heads turn to the sweet smiling dark haired girl on the arm of Garrett Barton. Riley interrupts with a grin, content to breach the mind of someone familiar.

Izabella takes a breath and hugs her friends. She admires Riley's fitted and more modern Hanbok, navy and blush in color, "Bozhe moi! Riley! You look beautiful!"

"Clearly you're new to this whole alias thing,' Riley snorts, Izabella is still Izabella; sweet but clueless, 'Thank you. I'd compliment you but I have no idea if you've gone gray at twenty or tattooed a panda on your face...your hair does feel shorter."

"A little, yes."

"Brody! Brother!," Garrett offers Brody one of their old handshakes the boy still seems to remember, the kids all eager to catch up.

Violet slips up behind Riley, pointlessly covering her eyes and mumbling with a giddy squeak, "Guess who?!"

Riley grits her teeth, "Vi! Is that Violet?! I will shoot you. Get your hands off my face! It takes me hours to do my makeup. Now hug me, you stupid sister!"

Peter and Rick linger with the kids while Jennifer disappears off with Sam and Steve.

Over in the corner a darker figure with her pitch black hair with a light blue streak down to her bangs is splurging for the evening, a shot in each hand. She has her black pants to match her black cami, rolled up sleeves of a light gray plaid fitted and feminine blazer.

She pushes to the sides of her black vans and chugs her shot when a friendly voice stands beside her;

"You should seriously start tying those laces."

Lucy's cheeks puff full of whiskey, dark eyeliner and makeup perfected to a t looking back toward the engineer. She gulps her drink, emptying her cheeks;

"Tony Stark...You look the same."

Stark smiles and offers to click their glasses, "You're old enough to drink these days?"

She jokes without even blinking, "Nah. Fake ID works like a charm with a little make up. I need to make a living somehow."

"Where's your mother?"

"I'm hiding from my mother."

"Really,' Tony sips his drink, ' I thought you two were inseparable."

"Yeah well. Mom left dad, also decided to keep me away from him for no reason and I kinda hate her for it."

"Alright," he doesn't ask questions. Preferring to avoid involvement with any of his ex teammates and the kids.

"Lucy?! Is that you,' Pepper slips forward to give her a hug, 'Oh my goodness! You grew up!"

"That's usually what kids do,' she smirks and twirls the contents of her glass, 'How's Cali? Perfect? Amazing? Warm?"

Tony smiles, genuinely happy to see the girl, "Better than New York."

Lucy snorts, her pupils almost wide enough to hide the yellow of her irises, "Any place is better than New York. I'm thinking of moving back. I miss the beach…"

...Not to mention the fact that it's far away from her now ex girlfriend, her mother, and her mother's new bird-boy toy.

Pepper rubs Lucy's shoulder, "What have you been up to? Are you going to college in the area?"

"I am... well,' she chips at the navy paint on her fingernails, 'Taking a year, or six, to figure it out. Maybe, get a fish tank in the meantime? Maybe get a license for a pet kangaroo? Adopt a cat- ew actually, I hate cats...unless it's a tiger. My soul sisters...anyways. So! Antonia looks like a teenager in that red dress. Not my personal taste but she does look like she's ready for the prom...god-What a nightmare that was! I'd tell you guys that story but I was in juvie for it so I heard that one through the grapevine- I'll shut up now."

Tony cringes over her words about Antonia and ignores the rest, wishing his baby could stay little forever, "Please, never bring that subject up ever again, for my sanity."

"What? About Anna being almost a teen? She is though. Seems to love the attention as well, I wonder who she gets it from..."

Pepper laughs, "She's definitely her daddy's daughter."

Lucy can feel that, clutching her drink with one hand and wrapping the other tight around herself, her thoughts on her father.

Tony leaves the drink and checks the time, "We should get to the presentation, Pep. Let's catch up sometime, Lucy, I'm in New York until Friday. You and well...maybe I'll call your mother. If she'll talk to me."

"Probably? She doesn't really hold a grudge unless your name is Mary MacPherran, Brian Banner, Emil Blonsky, John Jameson, oh and, literally any Ross, including Bob Ross- yeah! I know! How can you hate Bob Ross? I couldn't watch the artist growing up just because his name was 'Ross'. Anyways. You're safe."

Tony laughs, "Text me, chic. You have my number, right?"

"Yep, cool. Sure. Somewhere. In the burner phone, probably," the girl points to address his remark, and stands back to watch the couple walk arm in arm back up the staircase and to the stage.

"Lucy?"

Jameson looks over her shoulder, lifting a hand to offer Clint Barton a proper handshake/'bro' hug;

"Clint! My man!"

Barton sighs, "Shush! Shut up. I don't want to interact with anybody, I'm just here to observe. Don't talk too loud."

She grins, "Yeah, man! Have you found a vent to go hide in?"

He shoves the sunglasses up his face and adjusts his snazzy cap, "Not a bad idea."

"Is Garrett here? Where is he at?! I wanna see him!"

Clint coughs with a grumble, "Ten o'clock."

"Damn. Dude, he's like.. huge. What is he? Six foot something. Woah, he's hot too. What did you feed him on that farm?" she looks over at the group, spotting the one face she was hoping to avoid.

It's ever so clear that Izabella has seen her as well, time almost frozen when they share awkward eye contact.

Just like that the memories come rushing back for Lucy. The memories and the disgust. The pure and incessant loathing.

To Lucy, it's all Izabella's fault. Natasha and Bruce's disappearance. Not remembering enough about that incident to help SHIELD find them. For her mistake to cause the distance between her parents and ultimately their divorce. For splitting the Avengers up enough to cause the crime rate in NYC to triple overnight. And ultimately she is to blame for Lucy's high school years and the poor choices that followed…

Lucy chokes when she looks down at her drink...that stupid girl is to blame for her current life, right?;

The break up with Jessica Walker. Quite possibly the reason she pummels people to the ground for cash...all because Izabella and her stupid, false innocent farce.

Even so, that little girl shouldn't be the reason for not stopping by and seeing her friends again. She won't give Isabella more fuel to ruin her life fully. She leaves Clint with a sly smirk, knowing exactly how to reconnect with the crew.

"Boo!" She shouts when she reaches the clearly closed off circle. Stopping short of gagging with an instinctive reflex when Izabella genuinely squeals.

Riley reaches to take Garrett's hand possessively once she hears that familiar voice;

"Is that... Lucy and her infamous 5 octave vocal range?"

"Four and a half. And then I turned 21 and it's gone down to three. So blame the lost octave on- well...let’s just blame the alcohol.” The Jameson girl invites herself into the circle and forces a sarcastic smile she knows Riley won't see...for obvious reasons.

"Lucy! Oh my gosh,' Garrett moves from Riley to greet her first, 'You look amazing."

Brody cringes and talks through his teeth, "Awkward."

Riley looks about ready to murder the girl. Violet rocks back on her heels and brushes her hair behind her ear with a soft pity whistle. Riley snaps toward her friend after breaching her mind;

"You, shut up. Is she that pretty?"

Violet lifts a shoulder, "She's not bad looking; you're prettier! Of course!"

"Rick Jones," the newbie introduces himself to Lucy and Izabella takes notice. Her eyes widen to observe the entire interaction intently.

Lucy sighs and finally addresses Izabella, equally smitten by the Jones boy. She can't help but notice the Mikhailov girl's eyes never leaving their new friend, this handsome stranger. Lucy acknowledges Izabella after greeting the rest of the kids with a hand and talks directly to Rick.

She's paired up her friends before, clearly Izabella needs a little help she reluctantly provides, "So, Rick, was it? I see you've met my sister, Izabella."

Mikhailov almost melts over Lucy referring to her as a sister, holding her clutch. It distracts her from Rick;

"We did! I mean- We've met. We met.. tonight. Actually."

The younger boy pushes through with an extended hand, "Hi! I'm Peter Parker. You can call me Peter."

"Hi, Peter," Violet blushes.

"Wait...more 'sisters'?," Rick questions briefly, thoroughly confused why this blend of different races, nationalities, ages, and lifestyles insist on calling themselves siblings.

Brody scoffs in reply, "It's complicated."

"That's one way to describe us. I'd say dysfunctional, too, but I'm a few drinks in and late to the party, as usual, so don't mind me much.." Jameson shifts uncomfortably, looking elsewhere with a sigh, "So! Brody. You're in the army now?"

"Working on making it into the Air Force with a little help from Steve Rogers and a very patient James Rhodes."

"You'll get there. You've always been the smart one."

"How are you?" Izabella focuses on Lucy, eager to start a conversation with the long lost friend she hasn't seen in years.

Jameson shrugs, "You know. I'm sure you've seen the mugshots. They always capture my bad side. I'm sort of surprised Riley here has never needed to hunt me down and bring me in for something."

Riley snorts, "Oh honey, I've tried. Believe me." A few of the kids giggle, not exactly knowing how to react. Lucy looks delighted.

Everyone seems grateful to diffuse the awkward tension when Tony Stark finally takes the mic and starts his speech, which soon will probably turn into a new technology breakthrough.

Within minutes Riley's expression changes drastically. Her senses are tingling. She turns to her right and she picks up on Peter's sudden edge, breaching minds at random to try and decipher her problem;

"Anyone else feeling a little tense…?"

There is a second after her whisper, the metas suddenly all on edge. When Riley feels something, anything, they all pay attention and turn to her.

Violet dips a knee. She hasn't run in years- really, seriously, ran- even remotely used her powers. She talks through the side of her mouth, "I mean.. I could.. circle the perimeter? Maybe? If I even remember how..."

Riley shuts her eyes. It helps her focus, lifting a finger to shush Violet and concentrate on Maria Hill's mind, currently stationed above them at the balcony, "Mom is uneasy- that's not good-!"

Izabella turns and taps Brody's arm with a tremble, losing her breath when she glances toward the wide open windows and spots a familiar uniform. She mumbles breathlessly, "Hydra…"

Maria shouts her orders as loud as she can;

"Everybody get down!"

Garrett ducks and pulls Riley with him, bullets suddenly firing through the window. The girl reaches for her weapon, calling out a warning before she takes a shot.

Brody tilts his head in shock, "Well, that's smart! We give guns to the blind now?!"

"Come on," Izabella protectively grabs her brother's arm and their friends follow behind her, moving to a safer location.

Tony Stark is prepared. While Happy moves to take care of Pepper and Antonia, he suits up. His trademarked red and gold suit seems to appear out of nowhere.

Antonia watches in awe from off stage, mesmerized by her father. She's thoroughly entranced by the action, pulled away just in time by Happy Hogan.

Jennifer takes her stance. Steve snatches up his shield and Clint his bow.

Rogers gives the archer a nod, "Barton."

Tony lands beside them, while Sam Wilson calls his own suit. He grumbles, "You all are way too prepared for this to be an accident, folks."

Rogers cocks his head, "You caught us. It worked. We needed to draw out Hydra."

Jennifer whines, "Seriously?! I thought that was a low risk...I really just wanted to party tonight. I put on my heels and everything."

Sam winks, "You look incredible, by the way."

"Aw, you. Thank you!"

"Do you seriously all set me up just to draw out Hydra? I hate you. All of you. Anyways! Who wants pizza after we kick some Hydra ass? And who is the new guy? What do they call you?"

Sam huffs out a laugh, "The Falcon."

"Mmkay. Let me know about the pizza," Tony quips, flying upward amongst the screams to circle the perimeter.

Riley stands at the center of the room, kicking off her heels to feel the vibrations of the ground and try to focus on breaching one mind rather than a few thousand. She cringes, lowering herself, her chin, her hand.

There's something familiar around and soon she realises. With a deep inhale, she stands and heads fast to the exit, hoping to reach their old estranged friend before it's too late. She clutches her earpiece she calls for her mother;

"Mom? I'm going after Linda." She ditches her com before Maria can even react.

Garrett looks like someone smacked him in the chest, air gone from him, a bit panicked over seeing his girlfriend taking charge with such dignity and bravery. He sits and pants against the barricade Izabella has lead them to;

"I shouldn't worry, right?! Riley's smart... Right?"

Izabella nods half heartedly, trying and failing at being reassuring, "Yeah. Sure….she um. She's fine."

Lucy throws her head back with an eye roll. Her reassurance looks a little different from Izabella's "Riley is a badass. You're the dramatic baby."

Garrett accepts it, "Yeah! Great. Okay…I mean you're right but...harsh, Lucy."

Brody reaches for his weapon, tilts his own head and intends on leading his friends to a safer location.

Peter is freaking out, his eyes wide, "Woah! Was that Mr. Stark?! Is that a new suit?! I've never seen that one before! You guys think we should help?! You all have powers right?"

"No!" They all yell in unison.

"No one else has powers?!" Parker definitely sounds freaked out now.

"No one is moving from here!" Brody shouts.

Izabella glances over at Lucy who is chugging her drink, snapping her gum as if nothing had just happened...The Jameson girl glares with a half shrug, "I'm counting, breathing, trying to stay calm, I don't think I need to explain...I really don't want to freak out…?!"

Rick Jones is next to her, subconsciously mid breathing exercise when he addresses Lucy, "I don't know why?! But I feel that, too! On a really deep level...there's something in my core telling me to avoid stress as much as possible."

Lucy scoffs in his face, "Well, I'm sorry to tell you that, firstly, you picked the wrong lawyer for that! And second, you picked the wrong party to crash. Did you casually skip researching your lawyer's name and her friend group? Her family? Does the name "Hulk" sound familiar to you?"

"Oh, you mean Hulk? My dad Hulk?" Rick asks, his face gleaming.

"What?!" Lucy drops her drink, speechless and shocked, turning to the guy, she had no idea-

"Just kidding. I know the guy but he's not my dad. I wish." Rick chuckles, Izzy rolling her eyes and putting a hand over her heart to calm down.

"As for Ms Walters..I didn't have a choice,' Rick tries to explain once again, the noise drowning most of his statement, 'Same thing I've been trying to say like eighteen times tonight! I poofed! I was at home, playing my guitar, and then everything went green and I showed up here, and I don't remember anything prior to my apartment!"

"Uh. When did this exactly happen?" Lucy squints, pulling her head back curiously.

Izabella sighs and grabs her friend's hand to try and appease her. Even if Lucy had never really told her about her abilities, Hulk or no Hulk, Izzy sort of has an idea already thanks to her childhood visions, misty premonitions and the like. It's hard to miss the gold eyed freak when she's almost always in the papers, and a red zoned She Hulk is the last thing they need. So, she grasps her hand and squeezes closer to her, giving her some comfort.

"It's okay. Just stay by me. Okay?"

Lucy nods half heartedly, her soul filled with nothing but distrust for Izabella. She allows her hand to be held because...well, why not? Maybe she’ll get lucky and Izabella will evaporate her very existence as well;

Lucy scoffs, "Sure, okay. You think you can get us out? Great. Go ahead..just don't kill us like you did with..you know who."

Rick panics, "What? who?! Izabella killed someone?!" Izzy starts to look teary-eyed.

"I-"

Lucy interrupts her "-It's actually a long story...Stick around for a while and I’ll tell it to you...she was- it was during a Hydra attack...it was two people..two of the original avengers actually, and my ADORABLE puppy cousin."

"I didn't kill anyone- vy ne ponimayete!" Izabella protests Lucy's remarks, letting go of her hand.

"Your cousin was...a puppy…?!" Rick questions.

"My dad is a wolf so...It's complicated. But I was actually referring to the other side of my family. Anyways!" Lucy grins and pats Rick on the shoulder, making him trip on his feet.

"Tonight got really weird, you guys. Ignoring the fact that a presentation just got blown up and interrupted by people with octopus on their uniform- what's with the squid symbol?!"

"Yeah, sure. I'll fill you in once we get out of here." Lucy waves her hand starting to follow the rest out of the building.

Peter panics, "Squid?! Like an Octopus?! Octopus and I don't exactly get along! Mechanical ones specifically-!"

Brody whistles, "Hey! This place is about to get blown up, let's go sis! Y'all can chat later!"

* * *

Riley is chasing down the Hydra agent with a wrath, knife at her hip and pistol back in it's holster, on the hunt for her best friend turned nemesis.

When Linda lands, she takes a swing at Riley and knocks her off her feet. The two wrestle in a similar fighting style- they have Natasha to thank for that.

Linda can predict all of Riley's moves, deviating from the programmed training with an action she's learned from Hydra.

It's not the first time these two have gone toe to toe. The blind agent and the human bomb, harsh in their attacks and yet still holding back a bit from completely tearing each other to shreds.

Riley doesn't need to see to breach her mind and plan each of her next moves. And Linda and anticipate all of it with ease. Battling on the balcony, Linda prepares to knock Riley off balance, caught off guard by a gust of wind and a blur.

Violet collects her friend and smiles proudly opposite the building. Riley snaps;

"What are you doing?!"

Violet suddenly looks defeated, the pride disappearing from her face, "What? I just saved you-!"

"You didn't-! Ugh! Violet! That was Linda!"

"Linda?! Linda as in...our sister from the Center Linda?! Why?!"

"You don't get it, do you? I've been tracking her and you just-! Ugh!"

"Tracking Linda...why?," Violet looks so confused.

Riley states forward, her hair falling over her face. With a quick breach, the girl confirms Violet truly has no idea. She doesn't know their once best friend and teammate Linda is responsible for the bomb at the Center, which caused Bruce and Natasha's death. That their once-upon-a-time sister is working for Hydra.

"Just forget it," Riley mumbles.

Clint meets them at the corner, firing arrows to defend the girls and giving them an escape route. Riley throws her head back against the brick building in defeat- so close and yet so far to pinning down her primary nemesis for actual answers.


	5. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Natasha finally talk about their decision to stay. Loki reveals some of his plans to Agmundr.

Sif is the most harsh when it comes to training with young Agatha, Natasha, instead, is more gentle. The sessions usually end with a few debates here and there between the two women, it's mostly with Valkyrie cutting into them with Agatha's new pet fox, which the young princess usually requests for her 'Play with the animal break time.'

It's the end of the day and there's no harm in letting Agatha play with her pet after all the hard work.

"She's eight," Natasha insists in a conversation far from amable that's been going for minutes now.

Sif bites back, "And? What were you doing at eight?"

Romanoff ignores the reference Sif is making to her past, rolling her eyes and crouching down to play with the girl and her pet. Becoming one of the 'girls' has taken too long, and earning trust- to have it thrown back in her face isn't what Natasha signed up for.

Sif hums knowingly and whispers so that Agatha can't hear, "I say we have the Princess kill that thing to prove her loyalty-."

Valkyrie snaps, "Absolutely not! Ulfhild is a member of our army now, she's basically part of the royal family! And who would sweet little Alex play with?"

Natasha whistles to call her old dog over proudly, adjusting his fancy collar while he wags his tail.

Sif is still upset, "If she's going to be the Queen of Asgard, she needs to train and be prepared for anything, diligence, stamina, bravery...strength! We cannot coddle her just because she is a half mortal child- no offense, Lady Natasha."

The redhead sighs, "Hold up. Child. Thor has two of these..Did we lose Agmundr?"

Valkyrie turns on her feet to look around, "I suppose we have...well, that's unfortunate. The realm is better with one single royal in charge, anyways. To the future Queen Agatha! Long may she reign!"

Thor's daughter laughs, delighted, Natasha muffles her own behind her hand.

"Valkyrie! Natasha! Ugh, you two..' Sif shouts, 'We need to find Agmundr or its all of our heads on a platter. And I will not be the one to convey this message of her lost offspring to Jane!"

Valkyrie taps her back, "There are days you are wound up so tightly!"

"Alright,' Natasha stands, brushing off her Asgardian skirt, 'Let's not overreact. I can check in with Bruce- I'm sure we'll find Agmundr in no time."

"Your idea of searching for a lost kid involves running to a man for help?' Sif laughs jokingly, 'You'll learn."

Natasha is half amused, more offended over her suggestion being immediately knocked down, "Agmundr visits Bruce and his mother at the science facility multiple times a day. I'm not sure why ‘running’ to Bruce is such a horrible suggestion. Not to mention the fact that we're talking about my husband, who I love and trust? This isn't a man, it's my man."

Valkyrie licks her lower lip, "I cast a vote we go to Thor with this dilemma first. He will not request our heads in the same way Lady Jane will."

"You could just check the prisons," Agatha states matter-of-factly, capturing the attention of the women who surround her. She pets her fox's ear, “Agmundr goes there sometimes. To see Uncle Loki."

"To see who…" Natasha needs the statement repeated, unsure how to respond. While Sif and Valkyrie are already headed back up to the palace to search, in a mad frenzy over hearing Loki's name.

"Uncle Loki,' Agatha repeats, ratting out her twin without a hint of shame, 'Daddy always tells us not to. Mommy would throw a fit if she knew. So I don't go there, ever, but Agmundr likes Uncle Loki and he doesn't like rules so..."

"He's dangerous, a little wicked, so you're smart to avoid him. Do tell that to your twin, sometime," Natasha reaches to pull back her much longer hair and follows her fellow warriors, leading Agatha up to some other warriors for supervision.

Romanoff heads for the Science Facility next while Valkyrie and Sif move toward the prisons.

It isn't like the lab from Tony's Tower and Bruce's new Coworker/Boss is just a tad more organized and collected than what she's used to. Jane Foster is focused on progress, leading the department with elegance, organization, and plenty of innovative goals that will most likely turn Asgard into one of the most advanced planets in the nine realms.

And Bruce loves it. At least that's what he tells Natasha at the end of every day.

He will enter their room, shed the lab coat and she'll ask him how work went and he'll answer with his arms around her waist, a kiss on her cheek, "Amazing."

But she knows him better than that; How being scolded for a chaotic desk and a structured timesheet isn't the way his creativity is best harnessed. She knows that he does what he needs to in a timely and efficient manner, but that's not how her mad scientist used to be. Back at the tower, the lab was always organized chaos. Here, he has his desk and a shared lab space. And since having the twins, Jane is borderline anal about organization- perhaps since her home is usually in disarray.

Banner’s tendency to think outside the box is mostly encouraged - but being the lone male in the department has its own struggles, which Natasha doesn't hesitate to make fun of whenever the topic comes out.

Natasha will laugh in his face when he vents, which has Bruce giving up and sighing when she reminds him of her previous situation back at the tower, where she was the only female in a team of Superheroes on Earth. He'll zip his lips and end the conversation with an apology and a chuckle of his own, leaning his head on her shoulder with a "You're right. You're always right".

Thor tries to spend as much time as he can with Banner, the two of them, avid gamers who spend three to four nights a week competing on videogames. Jane and Natasha will preoccupy themselves with something else on those nights- sometimes it's just too intense for them to be in the same room. There’s usually an unspoken risk of being stricken by a flying control remote thrown in a rage fit.

The virtual gunshots initially throw Natasha for a loop…The first day she entered the room with them playing...She remembers the pure panic, ready to avenge their 'fallen teammates', when it turned out to be sound effects from the TV. Bruce almost slept on the couch that night and she woke up to a delicious ‘apology’ breakfast. She's used to it now; there will be shouting, intensity and a fixation she's still cringing over…"It makes them happy," is Jane's response to her frown.

Natasha moves into the lab, silently watching from the back of the room. Bruce is presenting something with some sort of bird on his shoulder. His curls are much more put together here in Asgard, a tinge of gray coming through the sides, giving him that "professor" look she likes to call him out on. He's stubborn about his 'Migardian' wear and Natasha has learned that's something he gets from his mother.

Rebecca Banner was always one to monitor her own appearance, a standard outfit for each day. Color coordinating. Even his love of purple comes from her. Natasha doesn't mind, he looks decent in anything he tries on...aside from Thor's uniform that is far too big for him. It was a dare between the boys to swap outfits for a day. Thor in some purple stretchy pants and Bruce in the full metal getup plus the cape...neither one got through the full day. If it had fitted properly, Natasha knows she wouldn't have minded the look at all...

Back at the lab, Romanoff laughs to herself quietly over the bird, currently making itself comfortable on Banner's shoulder, spinning in a brief circle...he loves his animals. She doesn't understand half of what he says for the next chunk of time but she joins in the applause, content to see him receive the credit for his due diligence from Nobel Prize Winner Jane Foster.

Sure enough, seated on the stool beside Jane is an intrigued Agmundr, looking at Bruce like he's the next best thing next to fluffy pancakes.

Natasha enjoys the feeling of being right.

Bruce huffs through that adorable dorky smile once he spots Natasha. She rolls her eyes playfully and steps forward, giving Agmundr a hug he doesn't entirely want;

"Why did you ran out on us, kid?" She chastises, booping his nose.

He widens his eyes as if it should've been obvious, "Mom had an exhibit. I wanted to see mom."

Jane smiles and opens her arms. He runs to her and gives her a voluntary hug, "I'm so glad you came baby. Next time warn someone, though. Now, what did you think?"

He's processing, humming, looking over at the white board. Bruce lifts an eyebrow, secretly hoping for something enlightening to leave the younger boy's mouth. Instead Agmundr points to the keet on his shoulder;

"What's her name?"

Bruce looks over his shoulder to see the blue bird, chuckling to himself. She's half asleep now over his shoulder, tucking her head underneath her feathers, "She doesn't have a name yet. Maybe you can help me give her one."

Natasha comes over to scoop the animal into her hands, clicking her tongue and brushing those soft feathers with a smile. The bird yawns, comfortable in Natasha's hold. She shivers and perches on Romanoff's two fingers.

Jane shakes her head, "What did you think of the presentation, Agmundr? Do you think you'll ever be a scientist like mommy one day?" The boy shrugs, looking ready to run off. Jane grabs at him with a grin, "Hey! Mister. You stay out of trouble. Where are you off to?"

He laughs, "To play with my sister!"

The boy runs, colliding with a frantic Sif and Valkyrie, Volstagg behind them.

Sif lets herself fall against a cabinet, knocking it lightly against her hip. Valkyrie snorts. Volstagg scoffs and brushes off the urgency;

"And you all thought Agmundr was off at the-."

"Shhh!" Valkyrie snaps.

Jane tilts her head with a raised eyebrow, "Hmm? You thought Agmundr was where? So you lost my son, again.”

Sif sighs and shuts her eyes. Natasha interrupts, her elbow now up on Bruce's shoulder, "I knew he was here. The rest of them just didn't believe me." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Oh,' Jane glares, 'Well. 'The rest of them aren't always right. They'd improve if they could learn to trust us, mortals once in a while."

Sif apologizes, "I am so sorry, Lady Jane. It will not happen again."

Foster moves to stack her tools, organizing each bin from the students and projects of the day, "Right. I take you at your word, Sif."

"Come on," Sif tilts her head and calls for Valkyrie to follow.

Natasha brushes the bird's chest with the back of her fingers, grinning when she chirps, "What is she?"

Bruce looks over his shoulder to address Natasha's question with a shrug, helping Jane clean up the area, "I have no idea. Think we can keep her, Tasha?"

Natasha tilts her head. He asks like some schoolboy, eager for another pet.

Jane laughs, hugging a basket against her ribcage, "That's an eagle of sorts. She'll grow to be about the size of Alex-."

"-No," Natasha answers Banner's question abruptly and sets the bird down on the nearby table, up on her perch.

Jane widens her eyes as she throws her tools into her basket, "You keep telling him 'no'. First the white tail fox, the tortoise, now the bird."

"It's fine, Jane," Bruce laughs, picking up on the opposite side.

Natasha snickers, playfully glaring, "Bruce knows I want a cat first. Once we get the kitten he can expand his zoo."

Jane lifts a shoulder, "How are you guys adjusting? Asgard isn't for everybody."

"We're adjusting just fine," Bruce retorts defensively.

"It takes a while-."

"We have a while."

"Do you miss-."

Natasha chimes in and cuts her friend off, "It's fine. We're adjusting decently."

Jane hugs her basket, quickly changing the subject, "So, Dr. Banner. What would you recommend for our subject 8,923."

He takes a breath and mumbles some gibberish.

Suddenly, Natasha's eyes light up, an evil thought popping on her mind. She slips back beside him, running her fingers through his hair with a tug and pressing her front flush against his back. She kisses at his neck, nibbles his ear, hands over and down his arms.

"Nat, hold on-," he chuckles playfully, rubbing at his forehead over his wife's shameless actions.

She knows Jane isn't watching, too absorbed in whatever the tablet in front of her is showing. Natasha wouldn’t care if Jane happened to catch them anyways; The redhead is missing her husband and wanting his attention. 

She reaches to pinch his ass and make him jump. He glares, she shrugs and turns back toward the bird.

Jane seems to agree with his analysis, eager to leave the room when she uncomfortably realizes what Natasha has been doing. Foster averts her eyes when Romanoff leans to whisper into Banner's ear to make him stutter through his words.

He blushes and tries to control the situation by holding her tightly to his side. She smirks, debating on flipping him over her shoulder until he lectures her gently, mumbling through his toothy smile;

"Stop it, Nat. I'm trying to work-."

"It's okay. She clearly wants your attention,' Jane laughs to herself before disappearing behind the curtain that serves as the door, 'I guess I'll see you in the morning, Dr. Banner."

Bruce shakes his head over Natasha's interruptions, still blushing over her touch and her words, "You are wild today."

She laughs herself, leaping up on the desk by Bruce's new unofficial bird pet and chuckles, "What? You look so sexy when you're in your "Professor Banner" mode like you were in that presentation. Makes me wanna enroll in some of your classes, Doctor.' she winks playfully, 'You know I love your voice. And I like you in blue."

"Again,' he shakes his head with an eye roll, his cheeks throbbing red, 'You're wild. I feel like I owe Jane an apology now...and probably Thor, too."

"It was after hours. You were 'clocked out'. And it's not our fault Thor doesn't try harder. They have kids, we don't."

"We have Alex." Bruce grins.

She lifts a strong shoulder, somehow more toned, and tanned, than she used to be. She's in the best shape of her life, color in her eyes and in her cheeks.

Bruce loves his wife, the prettiest woman on Earth, Asgard now, in his eyes. She still gives him butterflies…he just would prefer some dignity in front of the new boss.

She smiles and that finally elicits a response she wants. He whispers honestly;

"I love you, Tasha."

Romanoff toys with the ends of her long curled red hair, biting her lip. He looks perfect. She wants to make him squirm some more, unbutton the rest of his top and watch him unravel in front of her;

"Bruce?"

He looks up with a hum, catching him by surprise when she captures his mouth with hers, his hands go to her waist as if by muscle memory, making him drop the basket he was carrying.

"Oh, Vrach," she tries to muffle her laughter over her clumsy husband.

He looks so disappointed with himself, hands thrown to his own hips and frowning over the basket’s contents spilled all over the floor. She can't help but feel bad, moving to crouch when he does and helps him to clean up.

They reorganize the basket together and Natasha pecks his cheek with a soft kiss. He abandons their project and turns her attention back onto him by cupping her cheek;

"Come here, Tasha, please,' he kisses her unrelentingly, left alone in that workspace, 'How did I get so lucky? You're such a pain in the neck sometimes."

She hums, "Touché."

She craves his touch, his warmth, his passionate kisses.

The redhead bites her lip when they part for air and slowly stand back up, "Well. Hurry up and clean up your mess so we can make a new one back home."

Home...what is home…

She regrets her verbiage, suddenly thinking of Clint, Garrett, Laura, for Riley, for Violet...

He pauses on his own, eyes closing over a thought for his cousin, for Lucy, for Tony and for Izabella…

Bruce squashes all emotions, turning to bite back at her mouth with his in an abrupt action, without warning, pushing her up against a table.

She embraces it and pushes him back, holding his face while he holds her waist in their push and pull for dominance.

Natasha needs to be rid of this sense of regret and guilt entirely. And her husband is the perfect escape from reality...at least for a bit.

* * *

Curled up on his chest she swallows a lump in her throat. He's warm, so comforting in the way he holds her, the way he kisses her. It's everything she wants. But coming down from her high feels like a damn free fall, pummeling back into this dark pit of reality.

Natasha quietly pushes away from his warm hold. She hates to leave him but she's far too distracted to melt in his embrace. Her hair falls over her shoulder when she sits up with a somber expression and a mumble. She pushes her hand over his chest, gently stroking at his skin with her fingertips;

"Are we cowards for staying away?"

He doesn't answer, looking up at her with darker eyes. His curls are a mess from her pulling only moments before, his shirt lost from their impulsive behavior. From their running to each other for an escape, for love and acceptance.

Asgard isn't home- it's an escape; An escape for two fugitives who still find it a challenge to confront the past. They're tired of running, tired of fighting. Tired of existing. Tired of failing...

Bruce doesn't respond, lazily, stroking her arm with the back of his fingers. She feels soft- she feels safe. He can only focus on her, ignoring the conversation he's wishing they were brave enough to have had years ago;

"I don't know, Natasha."

Romanoff nods tearfully. It's not what she wants to hear. She's guilt ridden and she can't remove those meta kids from her mind. Six years apart from their own world is suddenly feeling like forever, immersed with her own achievements and in building up herself...is it selfish?

She bends over her side of the bed to snatch up her shirt and pulls away from him to hide in the other room;

"Nat?"

"I need a minute," she calls back, replacing her shirt.

He rolls over, his back to her previous place, hiding his head under the pillow to clear his mind after the deeply connective and emotionally raw talk with his wife. He's tired. He wants to stay inside their bubble, cuddle her until they fall asleep, but he knows that's not what she needs.

"Tasha?," He softly calls for her, moving to follow.

He finds her outside, looking out at the view, the beautiful forest, nothing like what you can see on Earth. She’s focusing on anything but the thoughts swimming around her head. Natasha turns around, her focus on nothing in particular breaking to see that he's finally followed her out onto their balcony.

Thor hasn't held back on giving them the best. They have a large section of the guest area, their own private garden and a big space to call 'home'. It's far larger than the tower apartment back home and yet it continues to feel too empty for just them.

She moves toward the bench in her long t-shirt and holding a glass of their processed rain water. He sits beside her in his pants and unbuttoned top, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into his chest and hug her tightly.

Natasha sips from her glass and looks up toward the sunset, "I feel like; We somehow failed them all. I still have nightmares about Linda...and Riley."

She's talking about their kids, distraught and he knows it, brushing her hair with his fingertips and sprinkling her forehead with sweet kisses, "I know."

Natasha takes a breath, comfortable in his embrace, "I shouldn't feel guilty for living. Hell, this is about me living my life. Our life. What is wrong with me?! These aren't even my kids!"

He lifts a shoulder and looks into her eyes, "But...they were Nat, in a way, they were. We loved them like they were ours."

Those late night conversations. The hours of research into potential families, drafting and redrafting some sort of contract for the interested parents. The long hours at the Center, training, rearing, playing...

Natasha is bubbling up with her emotional confession he's yet to hear. She misses them, though, she can't admit it aloud. Her breath hitches and she exhales disappointedly.

Bruce pulls her into his chest a little tighter;

"Okay; Shh. It's alright. It'll be okay…I've got you, Tasha."

"I shouldn't be feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"Like a failure. Like we failed them. Like I'm weak…"

"Tasha, honey; You're not weak. And more importantly, you are not a failure. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Not yourself,” he laughs lightly, suppressing his own emotions on the topic.

She sighs, "Why would I be mad at you."

He pecks over her mouth affectionately and with purpose, "Because I should've spoken up years ago…I love you, Natasha. You're the strongest person I've ever met. I just want you to be happy."

"I wanted this. I think I still do."

"You think? Or you know."

She doesn't know, "Just hold me, Vrach?"

He nods and leads her head to fall against his chest. She lifts a hand to hug his arm, comfortably hiding against his chest. She tries to close her eyes and compose herself against the soft rhythm of his heartbeat.

He mumbles, "You know there's a way to check in with the kids. There's this strange guy at the...well I guess the 'front desk'? Administration... of sorts. Anyways, Thor acts like he can see everything. If we- if you, wanted to know about the kids?"

Natasha is amused by his attempt at comforting her and in his explanation of Heimdall whose job she's already fully aware of. She wraps her arms around his waist to hug him in reply;

"I'll be fine, Vrach. So will they."

* * *

"Young Agmundr, returning so soon?"

The young boy is eager to please, slipping through the ceiling in the middle of the night just to see the man he considers his closest confidant;

"I found it for you, Uncle Loki! Will this help your powers? Your magic?"

Loki grins, "Oh. More than you know. Fine work, young one." The prankster is one step closer to finding his Norn Stones, eyeing the boy's artifact.

Agmundr curls up near the dark cell, as close as he can be without climbing inside.

He whispers, holding his device, "Will you tell me the story of Karnilla, once more? The Norn Queen, and what these stones mean to you?"

Loki sighs, entertaining the child serves to be a cure for his boredom and would seem to be his first tangible ticket out of prison. Amusing the boy seems like such a small price to pay;

"...tell me how you got into the archives-."

Agmundr shrugs, crossing his legs on the floor while his fingers play with the item, "It was easy. Lady Romanoff left a key out on her table. And she wasn't home."

Loki smiles, way too satisfied, "Ah. Too easy. That stupid mortal."

"Agatha told her about us. Romanoff said that you were wicked."

Loki looks offended, shrugging his top with a huff, "I do assure you, Romanoff has killed far more than I have. She is wicked, I am not the evil one."

"For a mortal, everyone loves her. Everyone trusts her."

"You should not! ...And she now knows of me. You and I-! I could so easily be taken away."

"I won't let that happen. Uncle?"

"What."

"Why won't dad free you?"

Loki rubs a hand over his face, his mind circling over the same topic they've gone around over and over again for the past few years, "He doesn't trust me, after what I did-. He can not trust what he does not understand."

"Yeah I know, but. It's not fair."

"Well, life isn't fair! It's gruesome and bitter! Dark and boring. You would do well to learn such things sooner rather than later,' he snaps, 'Your father was the one always catered to, quite like your twin, Agatha. We are unimportant, unloved. Now! Romanoff; you should not trust her-."

"Well mom loves me."

"For now. Until she too is taken from you unjustly-."

"Uncle Loki?"

"What? Sweet...nephew of mine," he is losing patience.

"Do I have magic?"

"Of sorts. Do you not practice your abilities?"

Agmundr turns to face his Uncle, "Sometimes? It's hard.."

"Everything is hard, life is hard, learning is hard, becoming the best is hard. You must stop being such a weak- squeaking- thing!"

"Squeak?"

Loki shakes his head, "Never mind. You should be off before your father begins to question your disappearance."

"Indeed. Should I hide this, Uncle Loki?"

"In our spot, yes."

He nods, hanging on the figures every word;

"What's our next step, Uncle Loki?"

Loki shakes his head tiredly, "Find some way to shut up that stupid, Russian, mortal. Keep her off your trail. If she begins to meddle and finds out about this, she will separate us forever. You do not want that, am I correct?"

"No...I don't want that."

"Drug her if you must, poison her, trip her...DosVedanya Romanova…,' he has a realization mid panic, ‘Better yet! Send a terrifying loathing beast to shred the Hulk…Someone to teach the green monster a lesson. They are dangerous, Agmundr. They already grew suspicious of you when you went off earlier, didn't they? Well..they won't stop. The man, Banner, he might. He's gullible. But her? Oh ‘her’, how I despise that woman! You need to trick her. End them for the love of Frigga! Because! If I am free only to be thrown about and thrashed by that wretched beast once more I will surely-!"

"...Huh?"

Loki cringes, picturing the worst, picturing this plan of freedom slipping from his grasp, "Anyways. Keep your father far from knowing our intentions as well. He will not like to know you have been helping me and it will surely land you in trouble.. And your stupid mother! Otherwise we shall be separated for all eternity."

"Okay, Uncle Loki….Can you not call my mother stupid? She's actually very smart," Loki releases an exasperated sigh. Agmundr is loyal to a fault, having Agatha as the receiver of most of the attention from their parents, so, in turn, he falls back to Loki. Ever since he could walk, the little boy had a newfound tendency to wander off and explore. It was during one of the earliest wanderings that he stumbled upon Loki's cell, who instantly recognized him as one of the two children living in the Palace. Loki didn't fail, wasting little time in using the boy's own weaknesses against him. He's insecure, looking for constant approval he only intermittently receives from Thor or Jane on her off days. Loki's special interest and apparent understanding the boys mischievous tendencies that make up for the lectures from the warriors and his father.

Loki tries to settle his mind, still raging from the earlier outburst, too stressed and beginning to snap mentally;

"Return to me in the evening and we shall continue to discuss the plan for my escape…we must move quickly before these fools begin to suspect me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to the fabulous @mir_sawyer for always adding those extra details mid beta! 
> 
> Drop us a comment, let us know what you think!


	6. Immortals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria sets Riley up with her first mission. Natasha pries Agmundr for information on Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Or, the kids take over for their chaotic parents and troublesome mentors while Natasha blackmails a child to get what she wants. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"Let me make something, extremely, transparently, picture, perfectly, clear,' Tony circles the room of the tower, addressing each and every Hero, SHIELD agent and meta present in the room with him, 'I am not here to rejoin some cause. I am not resuming any initiatives. I'm here to launch my tech, sell it to my buyer, and return to California with my wife and my daughter."

Steve, as always, pushes the issue, not minding any previous set boundaries.

With Hydra loose and the city a complete mess, Rogers is missing his team. With his arms crossed, he stands in the corner, frowning at the engineer and making his thoughts known, "We need you, Stark, the team-."

"See? No. No team. I don't care anymore. And actually, Cap, Hydra is your problem, if I recall correctly." Tony cuts.

"Tony-"

"I'm sorry. Did you show up when I was confronting my own demons? No. You did not. I don't even recall getting any message from you."

"Bruce did. He came to see you-"

"And promptly fell asleep on me...not that I blame the guy... If he were asking me? I'd maybe reconsider-"

"But he's gone. That's why we need you, Tony!"

"No. That's it! It's done. I'm done. You all suck,' Stark stuffs his face, 'I'd like to eat my pizza in peace?! And your voice is giving me a migraine. You sound like a grandpa who caught his son cheating- geez. Pep? You got a pain killer?"

She grumbles with a moan and dramatically opens her wallet to search, "I can't deal with you sometimes, you're worse than Antonia."

"Where's the Bad Big Pirate?"

"Fury's officially retired," Maria snaps.

Clint snickers sarcastically, "For real this time? Or are you still evilly plotting on the sidelines?"

"For real," she mocks the archer’s sarcasm.

"So, Tony; we're supposed to believe that bringing your suit with you to New York was pure happenstance." Riley retorts from the sofa, wearing one of Garrett's sweatshirts.

"'Tony'? You just called me Tony! That's Mr. Stark to you, young lady," The engineer whips his head around, glaring at Maria Hill who just shrugs proudly. The man refuses to scold the younger girl, even if he feels called out. He scoffs, "I don't know how I feel about you kids being old enough to chime into these adult conversations?!"

Riley laughs as Garrett whispers something into her ear. His hands and fingers are moving, a subconscious action that takes over at times.

His American Sign Language skills are on point, being that Clint and Laura's son, Nathan, was born deaf. It's how they regularly communicate in that household for his sake. With a deaf adoptive brother and a blind girlfriend, Garrett has mastered both sign language and Braille for the sake of those he loves...

...Maria Hill mentally gives him an extra point.

Lucy is upside down in her chair, her feet up where her head should be while she messes around on her phone, scrolling through her dating app for a rebound.

Meanwhile, Jen, leaning against one of the farthest walls, is biting her tongue. Her position makes her stand as far from Lucy as possible. She knows Lucy knows she's there, they've had the awkward stare over and now they're practically avoiding one another's existence. Sam, always the patient one, mumbles in her ear but she can't focus. He tries to hold onto her hand when Jennifer takes out her phone:

"Jen, don't."

"I'm gonna do it. I have to do it," She says, already choosing her words on the phone.

A "ping" is heard and there's a small rumble of voices asking who's phone just went off. Lucy ignores it completely, unfazed by the stares and she snickers. Jen frowns and sends another text, this time ignored by everyone else as Steve takes over the conversation again. Lucy rolls her eyes, leaning her head back to take an upside down photo of herself. Sam sighs and Jen's frown deepens.

Steve snaps. "I really need everyone's attention! This is serious! We just got attacked!"

Lucy slips and falls to the floor, her head knocking hard against the tile. Stark half wonders if she’ll hulk out, Clint barely moves to check over in the kitchen, but Izzy beats them to it, already on the ground with a hand on the girl's shoulder, looking down at her with concern;

"Are you okay?"

"Ow,' Lucy groans, pushing away from Izzy immediately, she blinks and her eyes focus, 'Yeah, I'm fine. It's me; I could get run over by a train, and the train would break before I did."

"Instead of counting on me to fly around and save your life, of course,' Tony starts, circling back the other direction, 'Why don't we call Thor?"

Maria interrupts wryly from the side, "Go ahead, if you can find him."

Tony nods, "Oh. Lovely. He dead too? No one invited me to the funeral. I am offended. Was it classier than the Banner's? Without me threatening the population of NYC?"

"And I am Steve Rogers, losing my patience. People, come on!" Steve pleads, looking close to rip his hair from his scalp.

"Did he just make a dad joke-"

"Garret, not the time," Riley whispers.

"He did tho-"

"Children, children! Let's focus," Steve offers.

Tony pushes, "How did it even happen? Was it like Banner's? No grand New York Disaster? A lame accident? What a way to go. Why didn't we hear of it until today? How long has it even been?"

The group shifts uncomfortably. Peter Parker interrupts the ramble in a panic;

"He's dead?! I thought you couldn't kill a demigod?! Aren't they supposed to be immortal?"

"Loki's been dead like three different times." Clint shrugs.

"Loki's adopted," Maria mumbles.

"God of Mischief. God of Thunder. Both of them have the same title, I doubt it makes a difference if they're brothers from another mother. Both Gods, Demigods or whatever. Supposed to be immortal anyways, right?," Tony rambles on.

"Fair point," Peter nods.

"Who are you, anyways? The one with the bug suit. The frog suit-"

"It's a spider suit! And I'm Peter, Parker-Peter Parker Mr.- Sir...Mr. Stark! Actually! I'm here with Miss Walters! Not with-with her...I came with her! Like..next to her! ANYW-.”

"Peter, breathe," Jennifer chuckles.

"Yeah..we can totally talk about that some other time..My aunt should be here soon to pick me up anyways.."

"Both kids came with me. I'm gonna need your help with them," Jennifer points to Peter and then, Rick. Peter looks down trying to hide his blush.

"You did okay. No worries." Izzy smiles, patting the boy on his shoulder, making him grin bashfully at her.

The engineer looks at the boys, briefly.

"On the topic of Thor, if Thor is alive, Darcy Lewis is the one to ask,' Maria resolves, 'Look; at this point we need as much help as possible. Jennifer, do you think you could reach a Patricia Walker?"

Walters sighs and lifts her eyebrows, "I guess,' she huffs. 'It's going to be a little awkward to call in a favor right now, thanks to someone…"

Lucy glares from the kitchen, fully prepared to start a fight;

"What? Thanks to who? Was that a jab at me? You wanna go, mother?" To say Lucy had gone from snoozing to pissed in less than a second is a huge understatement. Everyone takes a step back, the only one daring to attempt peace is Sam, who once again takes hold of Jen's hand.

Walters threatens with her eyes, "Lucy-"

Sam tries his best, "Hey, hey, now it's not the time fo-."

"No! She's been glaring at me from the other side of the room for hours! She has to say something to me? Well, she should do it now!," Lucy verbally pushes her mother.

"I've been trying to!" Jennifer throws her arms out, exasperated.

"Not hard enough!"

Sam steps in front of Jennifer, taking her face between his hands and looking at her straight on the eyes. "Calm down. Please. You need to breathe and calm down, okay? I'll help you reach her later, after this. Now? Definitely not the time." To what Jen nodded and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against Sam's.

"Alright."

"Lame-."

"Lucy. Zip it," Brody offers calmly.

"Lici zipit," the girl mimics his voice.

"Are you mocking me, druggie?"

"Call me druggie again and we'll see who ends up blind next!"

"ENOUGH." Maria slams her hands on the table, making Riley jump on her seat. Lucy and Tony glaring at each other.

Clint stands, kicking his chair back to place against the table, "I'm out."

"Before anyone gets any more wild ideas, I'm also out." Tony says, making some heads turn to him.

Maria sighs, already knowing his decisions before he had even announced it, "I never assumed otherwise, the consultant offer is still open."

"We'll see. Thanks."

Antonia swings her legs, sitting with Pepper, "You're not going to fight, daddy? Why?"

Tony snaps, "It's complicated."

"Why?"

"Anna. No."

Pepper crosses her arms, "I'm with Anna. You really don't want to be involved?"

"Pep! We've talked about this. I'm doing what you want, what you actually asked of me. I'm focusing on family."

"Your family isn't safe if we can't attend events together without the facility continuously blowing up."

"Either way,' Maria released an exasperated sigh, 'We're going to need as much help as possible. And there's only one person in this world I trust implicitly at the moment." She makes a short pause and turns to her daughter. “Riley? Do you think you're ready to head up an assignment?"

...Not to mention the fact that it removes Riley from NYC, from Hydra, from Linda…

Riley is too excited to breach and realize that fact, her face lighting up, "Wait, you're giving me a private mission?"

"I am, yes. Your job is to find other metahumans and tell them about our project. Preferably ones who are eighteen and over, strong enough to withstand a fight against superpowered people like Hydra, and who are willing to contribute to the cause. I can give you names of the ones I already know, resources-."

"Can I pick my partner?"

Maria immediately regrets saying yes, watching her daughter grip at Garrett's arm.

Riley pushes through with her own agenda, "I choose Garrett! Mom! It's an in and out mission, it's easy stuff! Garrett can prove to you that he's SHIELD material and ready to become an Agent. Please?"

Hill bites at her cheek, watching the couple both pouting for her to say yes. She rolls her eyes, "Okay! Alright, fine."

"Yes!"

"Izabella?" Steve addresses the russian girl in her purple skirt who absent-mindendly toys with her necklace. "Are you up for some warping to aid Riley in her search?"

The girl freezes, and looks up to one of her mentors, hands suddenly clutching the chair underneath her for dear life. She feels all of their eyes on her, losing her breath and borderline ready to faint.

She recalls the incident, the damage, the blood from her nose and ears. The scars on her palms remind her every day of that moment and the frantic years of searching afterwards...

She swallows hard, "I don't think I can use my powers. I'm sorry, Riley, Captain Rogers, I just can't."

Brody empathizes, rubbing his sister's back. Steve nods, disappointed despite his words;

"We understand."

"Do we, though?" Lucy whispers only barely...

Riley sighs heavily, wanting her friend at her side in one form or another, "I mean, I could, still use a nurse on board. For...the rare and extremely unlikely case of an emergency on the road.."

Izabella forces a grin, "That's kind of you but my Aunt Svetlana-."

"I can look after her while you're gone.' Steve offers without hesitation, 'She'll be fine. I promise you."

"If your girl here can't warp; You're going to need a pilot," Sam volunteers Brody pointing at him with his thumb from across the room.

Brody huffs out a laugh, exhilarated, "Wait- really? Director Hill, is that allowed?! Would you let me fly?"

Maria taps her pen over the tablet, "For a quick mission? During this time of crisis? Yes. You can fly. I want daily check ins and reports of every little detail from every single one of you, and a personal call from Darcy assuring me everything is okay when you get there and another one when you leave."

"Wow,' Brody gasps, giddy when Izabella gives him a hug, thankful to Sam, 'Bro! Snap! I will not let you down!"

Rick Jones shrugs, "I'd offer to help but I have no idea what I can do other than...guitar lessons?"

Riley shrugs, "I mean...I'm a musician myself. I might enjoy some minor entertainment on the flight."

"Huh...well that would solve my loan problem! No rent for a few weeks."

"I'd volunteer, too, but I have SATs," Peter sighs, head down.

Tony offers another slice to Parker, curious about the teenager, "What's your damage, kid? What's your story."

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you."

"Oh. I'm a good old friendly neighborhood Spiderman...Mr. Stark."

Jen whispers and coaches him from the sideline, "Show him the thing. With the hands. The thing you do…"

"Ehem," when all eyes fall on the shortest, youngest child of the group, Stark is ready to hide underneath the couch. Antonia clears her throat once more to ensure she has their attention and curtsies, "Antonia Vivian Stark reporting for duty in place of my father; Fluent in French, Spanish, and artificial intelligence. I believe I can be a valuable asset to your team because I have such a wide variety of talents including but not limited to charming your target, not forcefully, into always saying 'yes'."

Tony snorts, "Sit down, Half-Pint, you're 8. You're not going on a mission unless that mission is going to brush your teeth and then bed."

"We introduced her to Mulan a few weeks ago. I stopped her from shaving her head more times than I'd like to admit," Pepper says covering the smile on her face with her hand.

"Daddy, you're embarrassing me in front of my colleagues. Don't make me use my special charm! Someone has to represent the Stark family on the Avengers! Otherwise we are on the side of the enemy."

Pepper silently agrees, crossing a knee and eyes Tony. The engineer glares back, refocusing in Antonia;

"You're not going anywhere, that's final."

Pepper shrugs, "I don't necessarily see why a quick trip to collect a team is so dangerous."

"It's a team of metahumans! And you're distracting me from lecturing this SpiderKid about staying grounded."

"Spiderman," Peter timidly corrects.

"That's what I said."

"Uh.."

"You're in your teens, are you?"

Peter looks up confused, "Yeah?"

"Yeah! That's what I thought. Pepper, are you ill? Are you-OH NO. YOU!" Tony stands with his feet on the couch, pointing to a confused Pepper. His face alarmed. "LOKI." He shouts.

Steve groans and facepalms while Pepper giggles;

"I'm not Loki! They're just going to Darcy's, Tony. It's Darcy, nothing will happen to them!"

He laughs, "Okay, that was funny."

She sighs and points to the door, "Can we talk? For just a moment…"

He follows her when she stands, the couple heading outside to duke it out.

Riley addresses Violet next, ready to recruit her into the mix. She cringes;

"Honestly? I got accepted at this beauty pageant and it'd suck to miss it after all the hard work.."

"You're serious?" Riley's disappointed, hopeful she'd be able to drag her long lost sister along.

Violet scoffs, "Oh wow. Thank you for your support, Riley. No need to sound so condescending...I'm not a kid anymore!"

"I mean, I know that. But that's how I remember you, okay?! Geez! I just wanted to hang out more with you!"

"Aww! I missed you too, you turtle-duck!" Riley rolls her eyes but indulges her sister with a quick hug when the girl throws herself at her.

Pepper and Tony return soon after they left, composed and put together. Tony tugs his jacket off, "Alright. We talked. I'm coming back into the fold- for JUST this once! One last mission. And if it's all the same to you, Riley. Ugh...I can't say it…"

Pepper talks for Tony, tucking an arm under his, "We think Antonia would be safest with you all. Outside of New York…"

"Great! Pack your bag, little princess, Welcome to the Team." Riley smirks. She doesn't find Antonia to be a complete pain in the butt anymore, as long as she stays out of the way.

"I am an Avenger!,' she gasps excitedly, 'Do I get a suit? Like you Daddy?"

"You get purple pants, your dad's speciality."

Tony snaps his fingers, "Not done! As I was saying before I got so rudely interrupted by my beautiful spawn, I'll agree to this only if Izabella doesn't even rub her hands together on the ship. No powers. One bit of static electricity and I fly to No Man's Land to kill you myself. I will personally ensure that any vehicle, aircraft, train, etc that we use is equipped with my security measures, my cameras-."

"Tony?" Pepper lectures for him to calm down.

"Not one, green, misty spark at all, in Anna's presence! Is that a promise I can count on from you guys?"

Mikhailov nods, a bit terrified, while Antonia runs to her friend to chat excitedly.

"Nice. And you," Tony points to Lucy next. The girl points to herself, mouth full of chocolate she's dug into, "We want you in charge of Anna. I don't like it, I think it's a dumb plan but you need a job, correct? And I'll pay you for your time."

Lucy spits her drink halfway across the Hill's kitchen. Steve looks completely mortified and Jennifer bursts into uncontrollable laughter;

"My daughter?! You want my daughter to watch Antonia?"

"Yes, we do. That will be while Tony and I aid in the search for Hydra,' Pepper clasps her hands together, 'So. We're all set then?"

Lucy coughs with one more laugh, "Yeah! Sure! Why not? I'm not doing anything with my life, right now. Free to help."

"Exactly," Tony smacks a hand, gently, against her back with a knowing grin.

Maria keeps her thoughts to herself. Somehow a mission entrusted to Riley has already gone off the rails. But it keeps the kids out of New York, which is her primary focus. And backup will be necessary…

She forces a smile, "Start packing, kiddos."

"You'll need some suits to pack," Tony shoves his hands into his pockets thoughtfully, performing a headcount and analyzing each metahuman for their powers, personality and tech savvy.

* * *

A few days later and Brody, is once again gifted his special glasses for harnessing the laser vision he's used only twice in his life.

Izabella arrives at the SHIELD headquarters in a purple button down that causes Lucy to roll her eyes and relocate to the opposite side of the room, comfortable in her edgy black crop top, olive jeans with a ripped knee and the ever faithful combat boots.

Riley receives some techy sensory items from Stark, laying them on the aircraft. She secured her pistol, which sits comfortable in one of Natasha's old leather jackets.

Garrett arrives with a bow and a shrug, slipping the white mahogany weapon in Lucy's direction with a light blush;

"I found this. Well, dad did."

Lucy laughs and takes up her bow, gifted to her by Clint, rubbing her fingers against her carved initials in one of the sides, "Wow. This brings back memories."

"Of shooting in the courtyard," He shoves a hand into a pocket.

She brushes her fingertips over the soft detailed carving, "And hunting out in the middle of nowhere. That was fun...How's your aim these days?"

He laughs, "Eh, I'm getting better."

"Yeah, right."

Riley marches in between them, coaching her team and pushing them along, "Alright, let's go people. Darcy Lewis is expecting us by five tomorrow so let's get a move on to New Mexico. Brody? What do you need?"

He swings back in his pilot seat, giddy and eager to fly as he switches on his buttons, "Nothing, I think I'm good. Maybe a pinch or two because this feels like a dream."

"I've got you," Izabella reaches to give him a pinch and laugh with her brother.

Steve checks in one final time with Maria ahead of him, leaving the files with Riley and bidding each of the kids goodbye.

Lucy watches her mother from the window, distracted and cringing when Tony arrives with Antonia for drop off.

Pepper and Tony linger in lecture and warm embraces for their daughter.

"I would never have agreed to this if you weren't safer outside of New York!" Tony reminds the universe, maybe it's more of a consolation for himself.

Antonia kisses his cheek and settles next to Lucy, tossing her backpack underneath the spinning chair she's eager to swivel in. Lucy laughs softly to herself, recalling the seat back at the center's lab she would entertain herself with for hours on end.

Rick Jones is already strumming his guitar in the back, he has nothing better to do. Lucy decides it's the most lively part of the SHIELD jet- furthest from where Izabella has positioned herself- She takes Anna with her, urging her to follow and the two settle next to Rick.

"Do you have anything a little more 80's? Like AC/DC?" She asks, sweetly.

Rick almost drops the guitar in shock. "How..How do you even know of 80s music? You're like four.”

"Daddy likes them. And I'm eight."

Lucy snorts over Antonia's request, "How about some newer rock? Something worth singing along to that won't shoot my vocal chords to hell and back completely? Whatever's left of them...anyways...”

Rick's eyes light up, "Oh you actually sing? That wasn't just a joke you made at the party?"

"I used to,' she snaps her fingers, 'Come on, give me something. I'm bored."

"She likes musicals," Garrett offers.

"Hey,' Riley shouts with a whistle and a little jealousy, 'Back to your post Barton!"

"Okay, okay."

Lucy just shrugs. She hasn't connected with her passion for Broadway, for dance, in years. Rick just nods and preps his fingers on the chords, eager to hear her sing. His bright blue eyes piercing straight through her golden ones, taut white t-shirt emphasizing his strong arms.

Before he even finishes the introduction, Lucy knows exactly which song he's playing and it comes rushing back to her like a tidal wave;

"So you're a Broadway guy, too?," she tries not to laugh.

"I told you, I barely know my name, but music? That I remember. I learned this one recently for a student."

He shrugs and nods to count her in. Lucy scratches her head, jumping in after he starts for her...

"...I've learned to slam on the brake. Before I even turn the key…"

She scoffs over the irony; "Before I make the mistake. Before I lead with the worst of me…"

Rick is grinning, immersed in their jam and enthralled by her raspier singing voice as much as Antonia, who sits by the edge of her seat and claps her hands to the rhythm. Izabella is watching from a distance, enjoying their energy, while the rest of the kids get to work on their launch.

"You like that Jones kid, sis?" Brody misunderstands the look on his sister's face. Izabella acknowledges her brother with a distracted 'hm'. He points in between prepping the jet, "Rick. Rick Jones. Do you like him?"

"Oh,' Izabella tugs at her necklace, switching her gaze from off of Lucy and onto Rick, 'He's nice."

Brody shakes his head with a laugh, "Nice?"

"Yeah. Nice."

"You keep staring at him."

"I wasn't, actually...hey,' she playfully slaps his shoulder, 'Focus on your flying."

Though Peter Parker arrives for their sendoff, he will be staying with Tony Stark in New York.

Jennifer Walters shares an awkward glance with her distracted daughter, heart aching over hearing her voice and the emotional strength behind the song she's duetting with Jones.

She chooses to focus on Maria Hill and on helping her with their final arrangements prior to the kid's departure.

* * *

Thor stumbles into the large glittering halls post battle with a large smile on his face. He greets Sif first, followed by a few taps on the shoulders of his companions and various warriors;

"Ah, my friends! I am so proud of our victory," Natasha is next down the line but her resting face startles him. She is the last to reset after the battle. She grins with just a hint of mischief, proud of the effect she has on people and chugs her mug full of Asgardian liquor in less than a minute.

Thor steps backward rather than acknowledge her presence. He finally makes a remark, trying to be inclusive and kind even if she's terrifying at times, "You as well...Lady.. Natasha- JANE! My glorious queen!"

Foster steps forward, her eyes roving about the room with Agatha at her side and their fox behind them;

"Honey, have you seen Agmundr?"

"Again," Thor's expression drops immediately, as do his arms he initially intended to embrace Jane with. "That boy shall be the death of me."

"Don't be so dramatic, he's just a kid doing what kids do.." she sighs and then starts to shout for her son.

Thor shouts next, "Agmundr!"

Bruce steps over gingerly and tries not to laugh over the amount of times he's heard the adults calling that boy's name in the past month;

"You lost your son, again?"

Thor acknowledges his friend with exasperation, a hand over his mouth, "Our son is always vanishing."

Jane whips her head around with a correction, "Your son. My daughter is fine."

"Our daughter,' Thor grumbles and lifts a hand to call over his friend, 'Valkyrie, Agmundr is off once more-."

She laughs in his face and turns with a whisper and her own sigh, headed down the opposite direction, "Perhaps a leash with some warning bells would better control this child?"

"I do not find your remarks amusing...well...perhaps a bit... ah, there he is. Agmundr!"

The boy looks up without moving his head, walking down the path towards his father, "What?"

Jane snaps through her retort, running ahead to lecture him, "There you are! Why do you keep running off like that? How many times have I told you to stay in the palace hall during your dad's parties?"

"I don't like parties."

Thor wiggles his eyebrows, "Come on now, boy! That's where all the best food can be found!"

”Speaking of,’ Valkyrie turns her focus toward Bruce, eager to laugh with her friend, ‘What are you drinking there you gorgeous mortal? When are we having our spar? Your green side and I? We are due for a sparring!”

”Ha,’ Bruce sips his drink and looks elsewhere, ‘I’ll ask him.”

Agmundr shrugs at his parents, unfazed, "Well sometimes I miss Earth. I can't get dippin dots in Asgard. What are we doing for our birthday? Can we go to Earth?"

Jane takes a breath, cocks her head toward Thor and addresses their son, "You're right. The ice cream is better on Earth. Maybe we should visit more often."

Thor hides guiltily, "I...suppose it has been a while. An awkward encounter when I am sworn to secrecy of the Banner's whereabouts, though."

Jane mumbles, Thor is loyal to a fault, "So we skip New York-."

"But the man of the Forest will surely miss my company"

She thinks for a moment, "The man of the wh-Clint?! You mean Clint? You've shared no more than two words with the guy! He knows your brother better than you" Jane half laughs.

"That is untrue! We are close and dear friends since the Russian cabin we resided in for the sake of Lady Natasha, having lots of things in common. He enjoys my waffles. Loki has lied to us both, for starters, that's enough for a close bonded kinship between us two. And-and the man of America-"

Thor and Jane's bicker goes on, while Agatha snorts over her brother's comments, the two kids arguing over their parent's loud voices, who are too engrossed with each other to notice their offsprings.

"The sugar is better here."

"No, it's not," her twin argues back.

"It is! And the deer are prettier! And the horses are prettier! And the air is cleaner-."

"And you're so stupider!"

"You are stupider!" she shouts, planting her feet with her hands on her hips. Looking exactly like a miniature of Darcy Lewis, Jane thinks with fondness.

"There is no need for name calling in this meaningless squabble," Thor rests his hands on both of Agmundr's shoulders and forces a laugh through the visible stress, rubbing his thumbs into his son's small shoulder blades, "That is enough bickering for one day! It is about all I can handle."

"Oh, really,' Jane tilts her head the other way, 'Try walking in my shoes for a day! I've been working since dawn and then dealing with these two."

"And I have been on council to appease the-."

"Would you like a break?" Natasha smiles, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

Thor lifts a shoulder and an eyebrow, eager to pass off his kids and take Jane for a quiet walk, "I would love one! Take them, please. We shall be back to retrieve them in a short while."

"We will?" Jane sighs, eager for a breather.

"Take your time," Natasha offers with a small laugh.

Agatha rolls her eyes, calls for her fox and moves to stand by Natasha. Agmundr takes a breath and blows his hair from off of his forehead. Jane tries hard not to giggle, finally giving in when Thor swings her to his side and leads her down the path.

Agmundr looks up toward the redhead, "Now what? Are you going to make us go back to the party? We really, really don't want to go!"

"Speak for yourself!" Agatha shouts, resuming their argument. "Asgard parties are prettier, way cooler and way more fun than earth."

"Nah-Uh!"

"Yeah-Uh!"

It's in a matter of seconds that the kids start actually fighting, punching and...now they're wrestling...The electric sparks start, their powers full on activated in their rage...

Natasha holds her head between her hands, immediately regretting volunteering nanning the kids. If they were just a little older, she could pin them both without worrying about hurting them, "Okay! Stop! Both of you. Agmundr? Go to Uncle Bruce! Go stand over there with him for a timeout."

"Or don't," Bruce mumbles now that Valkyrie is gone, uninterested in babysitting.

"He's not my uncle," Agmundr argues back.

"He is where it counts. Do not sass me, young man." 

“Nope!”

Natasha puts a hand on her forehead and grunts, "Ugh! Speaking of the devil- we need to talk about that."

"Talk about what? What did I miss...' Bruce squints narrowing his eyes to his wife while asking semi obliviously, 'What 'devil', Tasha?"

Agmundr crosses his arms, "I'm not telling you anything-."

"Well, I wasn't talking to you, Sass Master, unless your name is Tasha, huh?' Bruce chuckles, 'Be nice to my wife or the Hulk won't be so nice to you,” he adds, Agmundr's eyes going wide at the assumption of Bruce’s much bigger and much greener counterpart.

Natasha ignores them both, "Oh, and Agatha? We're walking to the garden! Agmundr? I'll be back for you in a minute and we'll swap. Vesti sebya!"

Agatha's walk is peaceful but Natasha has some ulterior motives with Agmundr; prying for information on Loki and what the younger boy could possibly find so interesting about his cryptic and meaner Uncle.

Agmundr is mostly silent, his loyalty to Loki practically shining out of his pores, but the spy gets to work her magic and in a few minutes gets into his head with a few remarks. She learns two things within the first ten sentences of their conversation; Loki is searching for mythical magic and too powerful to understand objects and he's using Agmundr to escape the prison. She needs to get on the boy's good side, figure out the details without setting everyone off and stop Loki before the disaster sets.

She knows it doesn't matter how guarded the prisons are, how much they try to keep Agmundr away from Loki; he's a magnet for trouble. The Earth-loving-Mommy's-boy needs a purpose that interests him, a challenge, and sadly, his Uncle Loki knows how to push his buttons, the same way he knew how to push Thor's buttons when they were kids.

So Natasha puts Bruce to work, another kind of work that doesn't have to do with Jane, for once. Bruce has Agmundr building things, starting with a small transistor radio from garbage scraps, and a boost from his powers. It keeps the young boy busy and finally intrigued in something other than visiting prison on a weekly basis..

A few of these Natasha-lead sessions, playing games together, walks and archery lessons has the two kids getting along fine once again. Much calmer and less troublesome for when a grateful Thor and Jane return.

The proud parents don't need to know about Natasha's new weapon of blackmail to the kids; that is to send the Hulk after them if they don't behave...


	7. Checkmate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and Lucy pull a prank on the other meta kids. 
> 
> Natasha has a chat with Loki.

Antonia is hyped about Lucy's impending prank for Garrett. She has used the scraps to create their intended weapon of choice- The new meta kid dynamic duo despite the large age gap between the two girls. It's harmless fun and Lucy needs something to fix her boredom after Rick puts his guitar away.

While Riley and Brody focus diligently on their mission, the rest of the crew is yet to take their jobs seriously. Garrett tries but he's easily distracted by Lucy's desire for conversation.

It's when Antonia quietly pulls the switch on her device from where she's standing in the balcony level of the jet, they see Garret stand up and head in their direction. Lucy's already snickering, ready to dump their concoction of watery slime on his head.

Lucy hears the footsteps getting closer, and signals Antonia to take action. The Stark girl giggles just as hard as Lucy over watching their full bucket tumble forward and onto their victim. The girls are rolling, cheeks burning and loud cackles.

"Oh my god! You fell right into that!"

Izabella looks up with her hair soaked and flopped forward, shaking off her hands and looking up to find the cause with a shocked and icy stare down. It was one of those moments where Izzy could definitely pass as Natasha's daughter.

Lucy finally looks up and realizes their mistake, her laugh fading and an urgency to run setting on her bones, "Oops."

Mikhailov is somewhere in between furious and ready to play back, lifting the fallen bucket to hurl whatever is left inside of it back up the balcony and straight towards Lucy.

"Oh no," The girl scrambles to get away but she's too late, soon covered in fragments of her own creation. Lucy has stopped laughing all together, looking down at her pants;

"Great! Thanks Izabella! I really liked these…"

Anna is hysterical, still rolling in her laughter.

"Payback's best served in slime!" Izzy snickers, her hands on her waist and looking up with a glint in her eyes.

Izabella tucks her head, trying to rub her face with a chuckle, "Now it's in my eyes."

"What the heeeck happened in here! This has Lucy's name written all over it," Garrett steps up with a chuckle.

Lucy glares from the balcony at Garrett next; her intended target, "Ugh! YOU. Damn you."

Rick Jones crosses his arms with a head shake;

"That's disgusting. Good luck washing that off."

Riley stumbles forward; deafened and tired. Garrett catches her arm, then her shoulder before she steps on the mess covering the floor in an attempt to keep Riley from slipping. The spy tightens her jaw;

"I have no idea what's going on- can someone tell me or do I have to breach a mind-."

"Lucy dumped slime on Izzy," Garrett explains.

Riley snaps aggressively, her blood boiling, "Okay. First off; you morons have an hour to clean my mother's jet! Second; I could really use some help on the bridge, Brody is the only one working here, we should be finding metas not goofing off unless you're the new Jones kid who is just here to amuse me."

"Hey!"

"Look, taking out our lone nurse isn't smart, you idiot! This is serious Lucy!"

Lucy rolls her eyes and looks over at Antonia, "Do we have anything left in the bucket? For the stick in the mud?"

Riley yells with every intention of returning to her space, Garrett follows, "I heard that! We're almost in New Mexico. And you're pissing me off, Lucy."

The Barton boy tries to defend, "Oh come on Riley, she's just trying to have a little fun."

"And I'm trying to save New York! So knock it off and maybe focus a little?!"

"Geez! Relax, girl!"

She turns in her stance and spits her words through a taut whisper, "Do not tell me to relax! Do not tell me what to do! This is my first solo mission. I stuck my neck out for you, for all of you, to be here and to be trusted with this! Failing isn't an option we have here. Hydra is out there- Linda is out there-!"

Garret takes a breath and steps closer to rub her arms, gently at first so as not to startle her with contact, "Yeah, I know. It's alright. It'll be okay. We're with you. Let's...head back to the bridge. Give that.. Darcy lady a call, okay?"

Brody comes in next, rushing in at hearing all the shouts over his comms, once he stands in front of everything, he slowly lifts a hand to his mouth to hide his laugh.

Rick searches the room once Riley leaves and offers Izabella a hand towel to clean herself, leaning in to help her out since with her hands already covered in the weird slimy substance. She can't exactly do much besides make the mess worse. He smiles kindly at her and wraps the towel around his fingers;

"Let me help"

Izabella chuckles, unable to open her eyes, "I can't see...I'm pretty sure it's in my mouth, too...ew"

He laughs next, brushing the sticky hair from off her face, "Nice. That must taste great."

"It doesn't."

Lucy watches the duo interact from the balcony and rolls her eyes over their closeness. The fact that Rick appears to be somewhat smittened by the Russain nuisance bothers her more than it should. She brushes off her hands, clapping gently, "I'm claiming the shower first. Anna, you can go hang out with Garrett until I come back. I don't trust anyone else."

Brody nods with an inviting smile and a wave, "I'm nice, too?"

Izabella scoffs at Lucy's comment and again at her once best friend getting to the shower before she can- as if she really needs to use it if not just to keep Izabella from freshening up. - Rick rolls his eyes and continues to help her out as best he can;

"She's a gem, huh."

Izabella gently takes the towel and cleans the rest of her face, "She's not all that bad. Anna? What is in this?"

She tilts her head thoughtfully before Brody can nudge Anna along to the bridge, proud of her creation, "Water, glue, ketchup, mayo and food dye."

"A few borate ions instead of ketchup and you'd have the perfect putty styled slime."

Rick snickers, "Add some liquid starch, too."

"Exactly."

"Yeah I know," Anna laughs and moves off to the next project which, knowing who her dad is, will have a similar outcome to the slime rain.

"Are you a chemist or a Pinterest user?" Jones asks pointedly, watching Izabella attempting to clean her hands eyeing the back and eager to claim the shower;

"Neither. I'm in nursing school so I don't have time for Pinterest. I suppose...Well. I liked biology, chemistry...physics when I was younger. It used to intrigue me. But, that was a long time ago."

"Something tells me we have that in common...I don't know why. Can I help you fetch some backup clothes? Save you a trip to your quarters?"

She laughs and checks the goop in her palms, "My bag is the-."

"Let me guess; the purple one?"

She nods, "You're right."

"I knew it. You stay right there, I'll be back."

"Thanks."

* * *

When Izabella steps out in fresh clothes, Lucy meets her in passing. The two share an awkward nod before Jameson turns to face her, bucket in hand, post cleanup of her little act before;

"Just so you know, for the record, you were never supposed to come through the door first, like, you weren't our target..." Izabella hums, tying her shorter hair back in a low ponytail. Lucy rolls her eyes and elaborates, rambling against her will, "Anna's green stuff was supposed to fall on Garrett, not you, that's what I mean.."

"Your old crush," Izabella vaguely addresses her remark, lifting to her toes and following Lucy to the slop sink.

"My first fling. And somehow he keeps getting hotter and hotter," she laughs over a memory.

"Gross. Fair warning, though, Riley will most likely shoot you if you even think about taking her man, and she will know if you ever think about it- with her powers and all..."

"That probably won't deter me, I'm just being real. Try to lecture me about behaving one more time and you'll get punched," Lucy admits shamelessly.

Izabella speaks up, bravely, despite her fingers reaching to nervously toy with her necklace, "Look, Lucy; I'm hoping we can talk for just a moment."

Lucy sighs, running her tongue against her lips while she starts to run the water. She turns the knob to increase the water flow and hopefully drown out Izabella's voice with the noise, she keeps speaking behind her, stepping closer. She sighs and turns back to face her. Abruptly and slightly raising her voice;

"Talk about what, Izzy? Hmm? How my life turned completely upside down on the day you finally decided to be a hero?"

Izabella tugs her fingers, "Wait..Is that why you've shut me out? I am sorry, Lucy, I never meant to hurt anyone, I-."

"You, you-You! Well! You did, you hurt all of us, Izzy. The whole city suffered because of you! Because it was you who made the two most capable peacekeepers disappear from this Universe! You took them away from us!”

Lucy's still shouting at the younger girl, who can only gape at her, eyes brimming with unshed tears and her mind exhausted of saying the same lines over and over again. Of having The Incident constantly hovering over her head. Finally, she explodes:

"I had to do something! If I hadn't Bruce and Nat-"

"And Alex! Because you didn't only take them out, what the hell did the poor dog do to y-"

"They would have died! I saved them from getting blown up!"

"There was a funeral, you know. A funeral dedicated to the people you say you 'saved'. So please, do enlighten me how you actually saved them."

"I- I saved-"

"They would've probably had a better shot if you just let the bulletproof Hulk and the Black Widow do their thing. Because I don't know if you forget but Bruce Banner? He's the Hulk, you know? Kind of huge and green and oh! Indestructible! And Natasha? The Black Widow? She-"

"It was a bomb, Lucy. You weren't there, you didn't see!"

"We all were downstairs. My parents and I just left that room- minutes before-."

"There was no time, the fire and the flying debri.."

"Mm. The thing is, you don't know what would've happened if you just sat back and let them handle it. Besides! If I recall correctly, if my Mom was honest about what she's shared -debatable given her record with me- almost every time you've impulsively used your powers; it's ended in tragedy." Izabella swallows hard, taking the remarks like a champion. Lucy attacks harder now that she has the upper hand, "You lost Bruce in Russia, then you tried to fight years later and got a bullet across your palms, and then there was the accident, where you finally managed to take my family from me. For good that time!"

Izabella's lip quivers as she tries to explain, slapping the back of her hand into her palm for emphasis, "I had to do something! I didn't have time to call for help, I didn't- I couldn't-! I never meant-."

"Yeah we know, I know,' she sighs, trying to lower her volume, 'You just. You don't get it. You can cry all you want- you're good at that, you can apologize over and over again, and feel sorry and whatever, you can try to keep their legacy alive by...doing whatever you're doing with Aunt Nat's stones around your neck, by wearing his colors and your red highlights- Ugh! I fucking hate that stupid Stark crystal around your neck, I really, truly have this undeniable urge to smash it- But none of that will bring them back! Nothing of what you are actually doing will help! We don't get the past six years back- you can't make up for it. I don't get the past 6 years of my life back- I don't get that time with my dad back-!"

"Woah. How is that my fault?!"

Lucy laughs with her own anxiety, letting the bucket on her hands fall in the sink, the sound deafening in the short silence between the girls;

"Seriously?!" She screams, turning around to face the teen. "You set me off! Do you not remember this?! I blew up! I totally went into my red zone, you literally pulled the She-Hulk out of me. An alter ego version of myself, that led to me...fighting constantly with my dad. A monster that led to my parents divorce? Sound familiar at all? I have you to thank for my current hell- for my breakup with probably the coolest girl in the universe, Nah, the coolest girl I've ever met. Because the yellow-eyed freak that I turned into, makes more money fighting than she does dancing. And after six years of poor decisions?! I have a record, Izzy. Literally. I barely have options anymore! I never even finished high school, I'm not smart like you; Miss 'I'm pursuing a Doctorate in Medicine to find myself.' If you've read the papers at all, you'd see that I'm not some pretty green thing! Oh no! But you knew that, already didn't you. That I had abilities. That I was a risk…"

Izabella swallows hard with a lie already on her tongue. She'll keep her childhood visions of Lucy destroying Cap's shield, fighting against Bruce, hurting Antonia, until the day she dies, "No. I didn't. "

"No? Riley didn't tell you that it was me? That her accident was my fault?! Because it was! I threw some red-zoned punches and knocked the nerves behind her eyes all out of whack. And you know what? I actually admit it! It was me who hurt her. I'm not a goddamn coward, like other people I know of.."

"No, she didn't. I knew but Riley wasn't the one who told me.' Izabella breathes easier, now knowing what who, her once best friend, is referring to and answers, more calmly 'Steve told me...years later. Riley never told a soul."

Lucy stares at her and closes her eyes, bringing her hands to her head, fingers gripping at her hair. "There's no way...you're joking."

Izabella shakes her head, "We were sisters. We had each other's backs. She didn't want to betray that, not that I really cared..I mean, I did care but I also cared about you, too."

"You didn't care?"

"I tried to reach out to you but you would not let me in." The two girls share the silence until Izabella drops her head and continues, "I am sorry, I will say it over and over again; But, you weren't the only one who lost everything that day."

"What? Are you about to tell me you lost your stand in parents?" Lucy scoffs, mostly to herself and swings her bucket up onto the ledge once it's full. Maybe the Happy-Go-Lucky Russian does have more than two emotions and a false front after all…

"They were the closest thing I've ever had to a family.' Izabella brushes her hair behind her ear with her eyes glossing over, 'I didn't know my father; I told you that. And my mother died trying to protect me when I was young and trying to be normal. I wish we had more time. I wish I knew my father. I didn't know what I was capable of until I met Vrach-."

Both girls visibly flinch at the nickname, grief glossing over their eyes and makes Isabella correct herself, "Until I met Bruce and Natasha." She pauses for a second, her voice wavering. "They taught me how to use my powers properly, and made me believe I could do good. That I had something to offer the world with or without my abilities. I think that is something you can relate to, too? I had Aunt Svetlana, and Brody later on, but we were our own family." She smiles, faint kind memories of the three of them at Bruce and Natasha's apartment. “I would spend almost every day in their place, at the lab with Bruce, I would go to science seminars with them, staying with Natasha on the stands and watching Bruce talk. I would stay on a video call or on the phone with Natasha long after midnight before Aunt Svetlana and I moved to New York. They would drop everything in the second to help with my dumb homework, they'd write me letters or call me with some sort of encouragement when I was sad or when I screwed up, they always knew...Then Alex..sweet, sweet Alex, he knew me, like a long lost little brother, and embraced me, we would go for walks together, the four of us. I know most of their favorite spots. I knew their favorite movies, their songs, I knew their schedules, I had access to Natasha's calendar, to Bruce's lab and I still have the key to their home. I knew Tony would call at 5:00 every night and 6am with some epiphany. As a baby, Anna couldn't sleep without her pink blanket because she would always leave it on their sofa whenever she stayed over. Which was a lot. I knew when they were fighting, when they were getting along...Whenever I needed them, they were there. So yes; they might as well have been my parents. I loved them as if they were and that's why I want to keep them with me in whatever way I can. Because it hurts that they're gone and I need that reminder that they were here...are here...I wish I could take it back and do things differently. No one looked at me the same after the accident. Tony hated me after I failed him over twenty times; You're not the only one who is hurting here, Lucy. And for Riley? For Violet? They do have families now, only thanks to Natasha...and that only was after years that they spent here at the Center.. So on that day they lost a mother figure to them, too. I've done things I regret, we all have. So I'm sorry, for 'ruining' your life, I'm sorry for your mother's decision to keep you away from your father. I just..I guess I want you to know that I am here for you, if you can stand looking at my face, if you ever need to talk about it...like decent people."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay. But maybe, and please don't kill me..Maybe you need to take responsibility for the choices you make in your life. Maybe it is time to stop blaming me for an accident I could not control in time. To stop blaming every poor decision you've made in the past six years on that one night and on your mother who was just trying to protect you, in her own way. Try to take some responsibility for yourself. I am not telling you to blame yourself..not in a bad way..just to..think about what happened in a more rational way, I guess..Take responsibility for your own actions. We all have to. Riley is right, we have to focus on this mission right now if we want to help our city and end Hydra. We at least need to get along for the time being. If we never see each other again after all of this, that's fine. But...if you can find some way to forgive me...I miss my best friend. I miss my sister."

Lucy takes a frustrating breath, her hands clenching into fist. She hates being called out and is tempted to bite back and escalate the shouting matches to something more brutal...maybe. But then, her eyes lower and fall onto the scars on each of Izabella's palms. They're presumably a daily reminder of the incident- of what she can't do.

Lucy snaps and looks back at Izabella, "Have you used your powers since...?"

"Since searching a thousand alternate dimensions with Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers? No. And I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Because as you so nicely put it, my powers seem to only bring trouble."

Izabella takes the refilled bucket from Lucy's hands with a firm grip and heads back to the mess.

Lucy watches as her friend walk away ever so calmly, mulling over their conversation;

"A little trouble isn't always a bad thing-."

"Yes, it is!" Izabella immediately hollers back, a small smile on her face while she brushes a remnant tear off her cheek with the back of her fingers.

* * *

"I don't suppose you're here to drop off a book to cure this boredom, Agent Romanoff...shall I still call you that? Do you prefer the title of 'Lady'? 'Warrior'? I would thoroughly enjoy being referred to as 'Your Highness' - why don't we practice now?"

The corner of Natasha's mouth quirks up just a tad over Loki's remark, as much as she wants to remain stoic, she can't help it. She stealthily snuck into the prisons, distracting the guards with some Russian-Raised-Spy-Only-Tactics to allow herself complete privacy with the lone occupant of this particular jurisdiction.

"I see you're still the self absorbed asshole, power crazed moron I met in New York, aren't you?"

Loki's arms are leisurely crossed under his head, which serves to be an odd look for the demigod;

"So. Doing everything you think of in order to achieve a better life is the wicked way? Really? Is it that oh so horrible in your book?"

"It is when you murder and take advantage of innocent people."

Loki smiles and stands up, stepping closer to the glass, "On the topic of murder..Where is that green monster of yours?"

"One; He is not a monster. Two; He's upstairs on standby. I can call him down here if you want to hang out and catch up, I bet he wouldn't say no."

"I'd rather not. Last time we spoke didn't end so well for me-. I'll take my chances."

"If you're so sure..."

"I do not believe you want to add to your body count, do you? How's that red ledger of yours?"

Natasha shifts her jaw uncomfortably, frowning and pushing an image of a young Linda and Riley from her mind as quickly as they appear. She dismisses her conflict with a shrug;

"What have you done to Agmundr?"

Loki turns away from her and circles his cell with a bitter gasp, "I know not what you mean-."

"Agmundr. He trusts you. Is it magic?"

He wiggles his fingers, as if proving a point, "My magic is useless in my current hell, Romanoff."

"I don't trust you."

"Oh, the feeling is very mutual, I can assure you of that."

"You're really not that good at keeping secrets if you truly believe you can confide in an eight year old child."

"The boy is useless, but you already know this,' Loki spews with a bit more sass, 'He is merely a means to an end. And the more you withhold from him, the more you deny the boy what he wants, the more he will pursue it."

"Tell me something I don't know-."

"Not a chance."

"Fool me twice," She laughs briefly to herself, running a hand through her hair, "I'm onto you. I've done my research. Despite what you think; Agmundr does talk. Again, confiding in a child..that's a rookie mistake. Are you going to tell me about these Norn Stones or do I have to wait until I open the mystery box of things you've hoarded so far back at my apartment? Either way, you're not getting those stones, Loki." She fixes her stare on him.

Loki grows steadily more angry and impatient. He laughs through his anguish, "You think you know what you are dealing with. Foolish mortal, you know nothing-."

She sighs and rolls her eyes, 'men..'

"I have a meeting to get to and you're wasting my time, not surprised there. I have much larger threats to deal with over in another realm. I only came down here to warn you, Loki; Stay away from Agmundr and Agatha. Leave the children alone or you will regret the day you spawned from whatever hell you came out of." She marks her words with a hand on her hips, not turning her eyes away from him for even a second.

"Who is going to stop me? You? From what I can see Thor does not even know you're here, does he? No,' He circles back again, Natasha following his every step with her eyes, 'No one knows...You've kept your knowledge a secret, why? To try and become some kind of heroine in another realm, too? Earth was not enough for you was it...And you've drugged the guards...With what? You have none of your standard spy apparel here on Earth. I'm impressed, I must say. You've become the very manipulator you so despise. Wicked. I approve! What aren't you telling me Romanoff? What are you hiding?"

At that, Natasha smirks and her arms fall to her side, she turns to leave but before, faces Loki one last time; "Checkmate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my fabulous beta reader from Tumblr, @one-bigmess
> 
> Enjoy! Drop a comment if you can! :)


	8. Sparks Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids reach Darcy Lewis. Izabella and the team try to help jog Rick’s memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta Credit: @one-bigmess
> 
> Let us know what you think!

Darcy Lewis lives in a small apartment. One bedroom and a separate outdoor garage, but she still, although begrudgingly, invited the kids into her home.

She’s confused, unable to figure out why on earth would they send 80 babies (maybe an exaggeration?) from an organization she has been cursing since The Great Ipod Theft of 2010(aprox).

Short story short; Clint still owes her an Ipod.

The kids can't help but look around in amazement. Papers and tech are covering every available surface the apartment has to offer, soda cans left out on the empty countertops and desk spaces.

"Don't touch that." Are her first words to Antonia who goes straight for the biggest machine in her general vicinity, attracted by the shiny buttons. Like father like daughter.

When Antonia starts asking questions, her hands fidgeting, Izabella kindly corrects her with a detailed explanation of how this particular object would actually work.

Darcy whips her head, arching an eyebrow, "How do you know that?"

Izabella shrugs, grabbing the sleeve of her green top with a weak explanation, "Physics."

"Huh,' she nods, somewhat impressed, 'Where'd you all park the jet? Hill said there was a jet coming. Is it invisible? How likely is it to draw attention to my whereabouts?! I sorta have wanted tech-..."

Brody laughs, "It's a SHIELD vehicle, I don't ask too many questions. But, no way it draws attention."

"It's New Mexico, the world thinks we have UFO's landing on the regular which is only half true-."

"The jet's invisible."

"Perfect."

Riley pushes her way through, leaning on and led by Garrett who offers her a chair while she feels for her Braille documents on her purse, "It's up on a hillside...no offense but New Mexico doesn't have a lot of buildings or people to be worried about..It's all desert. Bet they shot a lot of Mars inspired movies in here."

Darcy is offended regardless, "Aren't you blind?"

Riley grins sarcastically, "I lived here for a few years with my grandma when we left Yeosu, I know what I'm talking about."

"Yeosu?" Lucy asks.

"Korea," Riley refuses to turn and address the voice behind her.

"I thought Nat found you in Russia?"

Garrett cringes and prepares for the impending explosion that typically happens when anyone brings up her traumatic experience in Russia. Riley clears her throat instead and addresses Lewis;

"So..Doctor Lewis, my mom sent me to discuss Thor's location. New York is in immediate danger from Hydra, again, and we need a new team, again. Obviously she would've liked to reach an Avenger before drafting anyone new but things are kind of...complicated. She also seems to think you would have knowledge of other Metahumans in the area? I'm hoping you can help us."

Darcy laughs and addresses her machines, "Well, my Best Friend slash Boss sorta ditched me for her hunky space of a husband, which let's be honest, I'd ditch a meeting with the president for him too, and left me with all of her equipment still up and running...? I haven't seen them in years. Why would I have Metahuman knowledge? Ask me about stars and wormholes and Captain America comic books all you want, though. Also. I feel like pointing out that your Mother is kinda the SHIELD know it all now right now...right? Is that a secret thing or..? Did I just fuck up.."

"My mom is the one who sent us, actually. No fucks up on your side that I know of. It was her who also suggested to ask you because if someone were to evade their location..this is kinda the middle of nowhere? New Mexico feels like the place to do it. I have some friends out there from the Center and your equipment tracks suspicious activity."

"Well.. your mom did call but I was kind of busy trying to fix something that hasn't yet been fixed..I am working on it though! It's just a dumb blown fuse...I hope.”

Brody shrugs off his jacket with a half smile, his dark brown eyes nodding toward Darcy, "I've learned a thing or two about fuses. Where is the machine? I can take a look at it."

She lifts a hand with a flourishing gesture, "I mean; be my guest. Go for it...Be careful, though, It's not a tinker toy!" Brody rolls his head. Darcy cringes, "I'm sorry, I can't help it, you look soooo young."

"I'm eighteen."

"Shhh pft! You're a little baby! Don't make me pinch your cheeks because I will," She giggles, to which the boy rolls his eyes and steps away, purposely flexing a bit of muscle on his way over to the machine.

Lucy is inviting herself to Darcy's fridge, shot-gunning a beer as if this is some casual activity one does at 4:00 in the afternoon. Izabella glares and slaps her shoulder shamelessly.

Lucy snaps, "What?!"

"You're supposed to be watching Antonia!"

Rick lifts a hand, silently hoping to be a hero in Izabella's eyes when he points to Anna, "I've got her. I'm watching her."

Antonia scoffs, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I'm quite mature for my age. You'll find I don't really cause problems. I don't need any 'watching'."

"Did we forget about the slime incident already?' Rick scoffs at the question, looking up to defend himself, 'Wasn't me!"

Antonia rolls her eyes and continues, with a sass meriting the Title of being Tony Stark's daughter, “Brody? Can I help you recalibrate this beautiful specimen?"

Brody laughs and kindly entertains her, "I guess you kind of grew up around these sorts of wires, huh?"

"I did, indeed. You should see my house. There's an epic laser maze in the basement. Daddy and I built it. Then Mama yelled a lot. What does that button do? Can I touch it?"

Darcy lifts both of her forefingers, pointing to nowhere in particular, "Ohhh! You're the Stark child! I loved your segment in Vogue last month. That was pretty enlightening! I've always loved the idea of wearing a good pair of overalls. Can I pull it off? Now that's debatable."

Antonia turns and leans her jaw on her hand, elbow bent on the table. "I didn’t actually write it? Because mom said I just have to pose with new fashions for the press? Which is boring. But perhaps a cold shoulder top underneath with a tan strap heeled sandal? My mom dons that look on occasion and it is, apparently, tope gucci."

Lucy looks at the bottom of her water glass Izabella is currently forcing her to chug, "'Tope'? What's 'tope'? Am I that old now?"

"Please, tell me you still like Frozen?" Izabella tilts her head, eyes trained on their young friend with a soft reminiscent look for old times' sake.

Antonia winces dramatically, "Yeahhh! No. Frozen got old real quick, basically I realized it became my life; the whole Daddy keeps you away from your best friend thing?! I haven't seen you, Izzy, since I was like 3 soooo, no, I don't like Frozen. Anymore."

"But Reindeer are better than people,' Rick sings to himself, blushing when he's caught, 'Please, ignore me.."

Lucy nearly spits out her drink with the loudest laugh, "I'll raise you one, Ricky, my dude; 'do you wanna build a robbooott'? Get it?!"

"I do. I wanna build a robot; this robot,' Brody is eager to get to work, addressing the equipment he's currently underneath, 'Izzy? Can I get a hand over here?"

"But I'm here, I'm the hand," Antonia whines with a convincing pout that would guilt the universe into giving the girl whatever she wants.

Brody sighs, finally understanding Rhodey's frustrations with a touchy Stark, "I need bigger hands, sister...you can help Izzy..."

Darcy performs a headcount for the fourth time since the kids got there, squinting when she finally speaks up, "Y'all realize this is a one bedroom apartment, right?"

Riley rolls her eyes, well aware her action will have no effect on anyone and stands with a huff, "We can sleep on the jet if this is looking like an overnight project. Maybe Antonia and Lucy can camp out on the sofa? We'll see.."

"Overnight at minimum. I can't even promise this signal will even get Thor's attention in the first place."

"So you believe he's out there? Still in Asgard..."

"Why wouldn't I? If he was here, Jane would be here too. I'd like to think I'm still as interesting and as important as space people."

"Ooh,' Garrett's eyes light up, 'We can have a bonfire in the wilderness! I'm all for this! Lucy? You got your bow?"

She laughs through her remark, "Don't expect me to kill anything with it. I mean ugh! I can? Maybe? If I stay *sober* enough. Did you give me arrows?"

"Handmade,' he laughs in reply, 'You know my dad."

"Yeah I do! Shweet. Sick! What's around here? What's the wildlife? Other than… sand and horror stories about Ross' evil and dark people?"

"Ross' people," Rick frowns. He tugs his hair, his head tilting up, "Why do I know Ross...Ross, Ross, Ross...my mind is blank. Dr. Ross, Professor Ross…Someone help me."

Lucy turns her head, hard enough for her head to hurt, "I mean there was both... a doctor and a professor? Same person- yeah. She 'tope' dead! Alive and in some other field…it's complicated?"

Izabella looks equally panicked.

Rick shakes his head, "I don't know. Sounded like someone I knew. Maybe not…"

Darcy lifts her eyebrows at the talks and forces a smirk on her face, "Pizza, anyone? I can provide food...and bad science puns. I can also help science wise once you turn that thing on but...More puns than food; mostly because I'm maxed out on the credit card."

Antonia provides the sass, "I just had pizza yesterday and that's so NOT okay for my complexion…but I do have the money for all the pizza I want. Daddy says so."

"Topping preference?"

Rick mumbles, "Pepperoni? The more meat the better-."

"Ewww! No! Pepperoni is gross,” Antonia whines.

"Brody and I can keep working on this equipment-."

The boy lifts his head and frowns, "Thanks for volunteering me, Izzy."

"What? Is there some other project more important than this one?"

"I guess not."

Riley nods, reaching into every pocket on her jacket for her buzzing phone, "I bet that's mom…Garrett?"

"Yep, it's your mom," he says after checking her screen.

"Can you contact Michael and Amelia? Ask if they'd be willing to join the cause?" She's desperate, contacting her old friends from the center.

"I'm on it!"

"Ricky boy? You wild, rogue, broadway knowledgeable man, oblivious, forgetful creature, you! Your mother raised you right to know music. Where's that guitar? It's too quiet. Wanna sing with me, Garret?" Lucy grumbles.

The man nods but retracts quickly, spotting a disturbed and grumpy Riley in the corner, "I better not. I've got work to do."

Rick shakes his head as his eyes fall on Izabella who refuses to pay him any attention- busy laughing with Brody. He lifts his guitar and gives Lucy a glare, playing purely with the intent of capturing Izabella's attention.

"It's 'Wonder', you know it, Izzy? Maybe, yeah, no? No 'Wonder'? What a man gotta do..." He blushes lightly over trying her nickname only to see her shake her head 'no' and chuckle over his flirtatious attempts.

Brody is even less impressed. Protective over his sister.

"I know 'Wonder!' Are you trying to indirectly charm Izzy with a piece like that? Ooh! Scandalous," Lucy asks with a bit of jealousy at her core.

"Okay geez,' Rick lifts a hand, cringing when Lucy shimmies closer, 'It's a popular song, that's all. You had to make it weird."

"'Weird' is my middle name. I have so many tricks up my sleeve-."

"I don't need to know- I'm not interested-."

"Damn! Did I just get friendzoned?!" Lucy is satisfied to know she’s making Izabella chuckle, her purpose for stirring up a conversation with Rick to begin with. She’s not sure why; somewhere in between wanting to punch the Mikhailov girl and to be her best friend once again.

"No, no! I didn't mean-."

"-You don't know what you're missing out on, Rickster! This hasn't happened since juvie...poor sweet innocent Sara couldn't handle me. Have you seen my eyes? They're the biggest draw and ultimate repulser."

"Those yellow things?"

"Yeah."

He shrugs, "They're fine. They're pretty- they would be pretty to someone- you're a little loud if I’m being honest-A-A-Anyways."

Garrett looks up suspiciously, giving a glance between Rick and Lucy while Riley is busy with a phone call. Izabella looks over her shoulder next...

The Jameson girl laughs lightly, momentarily sharing a glance with Izabella, "Yeah? You don't think they're weird?"

"-I've seen weirder," Rick adjusts the guitar on his knee and absent-mindedly strums with his focus back on Izabella.

"Weirder?"

"Don't ask, I don't know, I can't elaborate. My memory is too fuzzy."

"Let's see if we can't fix that,' Lucy sits at his side on the floor, 'Let's play a game Rick Jones; Rickster. Ricky old boy old pal... 'Yay' if you remember it, 'Nah' if you don't...'Betty Ross' yay or nah?"

"Nah? Maybe? Can I say both?"

"The Hulk."

"Yay."

"Huh...Okay, my dude, wow. Spill; how, what, when, where, why?!"

"I don't know... The news? TV?"

"And your mother's name was…?"

"This isn't a yay or nah.."

"I'm just asking."

"I...gosh I don't know…ugh"

"Where were you born?"

"...I don't know."

Lucy groans, "You're not being helpful."

"You stopped the yes and no questions and now I'm just even more confused."

Izabella shakes her head, "Don't stress him out, Lucy."

"I'm not! You mentioned 'seeing green' at the Stark party; What shade of green was it, exactly?"

"Green? How many shades of green can you have? It's green, green is green."

"Yeah, alright, see? You're talking to the daughter of the Green Queen, okay? Not the Oz one, the California one. So, I beg to differ,' Lucy clears her throat and starts to count, 'Let's see; stop me when one sounds right; Forest, hunter, kelly, lime, olive, spring, jade, moss, pine-." Rick rolls his eyes and falls back with a groan, wishing she’d stop talking for ten minutes.

Darcy smiles proudly, "Nobody panic, pizza will be here in thirty minutes! You're all welcome, by the way! Brody? Was it?"

The boy yells from underneath his project, "Yeah?"

"I'll get my tech on the roof going! Maybe that will help boost our power and get things jumpstarted."

Lucy is still counting, "...fern, brunswick, pear…"

"Arizona," Rick whispers under his breath, hitting one more chord on his guitar before pausing with a vacant stare.

Lucy laughs, "Arizona isn't a color."

"No, it' ."

Izabella looks over her shoulder and moves closer to Rick when he chuckles over the blood oozing from his finger and talks to himself, "That was smooth, way to go Rick."

Izabella smiles and moves for the small bag she brought into Darcy's home, "I have a bandage."

Rick shrugs, "I mean...thanks?"

Lucy scoffs and talks through her teeth, patting his back, "You didn't have to get injured for sympathy from the nurse. Is that a kink? No judgement here.”

Izabella glares at Lucy upon returning and moves to secure Rick's finger in the wrap. The two jump when their fingers collide, a green spark emitting in between them. Mikhailov looks as though she's seen a ghost, the color drained from her cheeks with her eyes wide.

Rick laughs it off and waves his hand, "Ow! Geez woman! What the heck. Felt like a bolt of electricity."

"You wanted sparks between the two of you," Lucy mutters under her breath.

Brody looks up to see what he's missed.

Izabella's heart is slowly picking up its pace, she sinks in slow motion onto the edge of the sofa, her eyes never leaving Ricks when she asks cautiously;

"This might sound crazy, but I have a question."

Rick drops his laugh, biting at his split finger and looking at Izzy with caution, "What?"

"Do you have gamma?"

"Gamma,' he laughs, 'No, I don't have gamma. What do you mean by 'have gamma'...Why? Why are you all staring at me? It was a shock that's all. It's science-."

Brody bites his cheek, "Oh, Izzy sparked you?' Rick nods over the question, 'That's only ever happened once before. It's not just a shock."

"Excuse you all! It's happened twice," Lucy corrects the statement by pointing to herself.

Rick shakes his head, "I don't get it, what's happening why, huh? Ow! That was my skull! What now?! What the hell was that?!"

"I just breached your mind, stupid,' Riley sighs from her corner and points, holding her own head, 'Guys? He genuinely has no idea what you're talking about…his mind is just chords and a treble clef-'music' for your morons in the back."

"We think you might be some sort of Hulk," Lucy reluctantly mumbles with a half hearted reply.

"Oh no, I'm not. There's no way," Rick protests.

"Do you know if, Bruce ever had kids?" Riley asks.

"He um...well. In other universes. Twins, then again two girls, then again one kid…" Izzy mumbles, frowning. "I don't remember Rick, though.."

"What the hell...how do you even know all of that?" Lucy asks, all of her attention on Izzy.

"You don't wanna know..Nat was pissed."

"You bet. Auntie Nat went on a solid rant to my parents that night. Clint had a headache in the morning. Is Uncle Bruce trying to make his own football team? The Hulks of Ohio!" cackles Garrett.

"I'd watch that!"

"Anyways! We were with me, remember? Who I am and if I have gamma and all that? Can we get back to that? As I was saying,’ Rick rolls his eyes, ‘I don't have any kind of Hulk in my brain."

"That you know of,' Lucy mumbles, snorting, '...why were you so mighty freaked out at the Stark party about losing your temper and all that? What was that about?"

"Yeah but...no…right? I would remember that- you guys would know that. You would know what I was-."

"Not if you're from another world, not really." Garrett blurts out with little thought, regretting his words due to the awkward pause that follows. "Powers can show up late and in different ways..Maybe you're a late bloomer.."

Izabella softly reaches for Rick's hand, trying to carefully wrap his finger despite the uncomfortable sparks that eventually subside. She talks above a whisper;

"I have powers, weird abilities…"

Lucy scoffs, "Correction; You have the power to send entire cities and people I love and care about to hell- never to be found again- now, you may continue."

Rick shakes his head, trying to comprehend, "That warpy thing you're all freaked out about?"

"Yes."

"Why...what does that have to do with me?"

"Um," Izabella starts and immediately stops, looking to Brody for comfort and support he is happy to provide.

He tilts his head, eyes soft;

"Show him, Izzy."

She takes a breath and looks at her palms, scarred and rubs her fingers over the lines. Just breathing is draining her of the energy she previously had, unable to speak with a full voice. Her accent comes out thick when she scolds Antonia to turn around.

Anna laughs, "I already know you have powers."

"I promised your dad I wouldn't do this in front of you, please?"

Izabella watches as Anna rolls her eyes, crosses her arms, stomps her foot, and turns around. Brody threatens the rest of them should anyone say a word about what's about to happen.

Izzy takes one more breath and slowly, a green mist starts to come out of her hands, letting her power out through her fingertips. Lucy decides to look away and Izabella can barely handle it herself. Seeing that shade of green brings back the memories. She snaps her fists shut and cringes almost painfully.

Rick points, eyebrows raised, "Okay, yep. That was the shade- the green- that was what I saw...sooo who is going to tell me what's happening?"

"Six years ago, I set out to find our lost mentors..that's a way longer story, you know the basics,' Izabella starts emotionlessly, 'I went to over one hundred seventy four different dimensions to search for them with Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Captain America. I warped us to all of those places; cities, countries, worlds...no luck. But, I think, you might have gotten caught in one of these warps."

Rick turns with a concerned focus, thoroughly shaken, "Okay, wait. So, what you're trying to tell me is that I don't even belong here? In this world? I'm from..somewhere else?"

"Okay- someone get Izzy a sketchbook," Brody calls out.

Garrett tosses a pad, Lucy hands her friend a pencil and Izabella goes into her elaborate explanation of her threads, the dimensions, and different timelines, doppelgängers and the like…

Darcy chews loudly in the corner, offering some of her cheesy popcorn to Antonia, in an effort to cheer her up from having been sidelined.

Rick looks over Izzy's shoulder as she works, nodding his head every now and then, frowning other times and rubbing his hands over his face. Once Izabella is finished Rick nods again and looks over the group, a million and a half questions swimming over his head,

"So...you can just undo it, right? Send me back and voilà."

Izabella sighs and stammers through her words, "I..don't know, I don't know which thread you're from."

"Uh, so I'm stuck?"

"Not stuck just...we don't have enough information. Stark recorded everything, all of the worlds we went to, but for that we might have to go back to New York.."

Darcy munches, "And if she doesn't wanna send you home with her pixie dust, we'd need to find another scientist of sorts. Lucky for you I know a guy here in New Mexico who might just be up for this kind of weird and crazy. As long as he's not back in a mental home...which...anyways! Totally irrelevant."

"It's not that I don't want to.." Izzy mumbles.

She tucks her head, as if wanting to make herself look smaller when the doorbell rings, Darcy and Anna running off to get their food;

"I'm so sorry Rick. I keep screwing up."

The boy just smiles. "It's okay, I forgive you. It'll be fine"

"Just like that?"

"I mean, what am I going to do? Hate you for six more years?! That's just petty and dumb. I can't get back what I've lost. Crying about it won't help."

Lucy wrinkles her nose. Izabella scoffs and hides her face in her hands.

Rick continues, rubbing her shoulder- hesitant at first. His smile widens when she looks up toward him, "Besides; According to Lucy here if I get angry about things I'd go big and green? Which sounds rad and all, but..uh.. I'd rather not. Is that the..the thing?" He scratches his head, a bit distant and thoughtful.

Izabella nods, "Yes. There's radiation in my blood, it's mixed with other things..chemicals..but it all varies. It's like the Super Soldier Serum..kinda..I can react to other people who also have Gamma. Vrach Banner and I, we could create whole energy between our fingers."

"'Vrach'?"

"Banner..Bruce... Dr. Banner."

"Oh, oh. Interesting…"

Lucy rolls her eyes and stands to go grab herself some food, eyeing Rick when she passes him, "What if you and I are siblings in another world."

Rick stops and immediately retracts his intended statement of hoping they're not...his head suddenly starts to pound, not just from her volume.

Riley suddenly laughs loudly from the corner she claimed as hers when they got to Darcy's and Rick knows he's been caught. Hopefully with the secret staying between the two of them.

Darcy lifts one of the provided plates from her delivery guy and looks over toward Izabella and Rick, "One slice? Two slices? What-dayawant?"

Rick tugs at his hair and stands with a shaky maneuver, eyeing the door, "I um...I just need some air. I'll be right back…".

"I think I've met him before." Darcy mutters.

"You met Vrach. Not Rick." Izzy whispers, looking around.

"They're family?"

"I don't know.”

"Ri..what was that about?"

All eyes fall on Riley and the girls shrugs, biting a large piece of her pizza and not minding them.

After a few minutes while everyone's eating, she breaches Izabella's mind over the look on her face since Rick left;

"Girl! Izzy! Stop it! Knock it off with the self sabotaging-."

"-What?"

"You know what. He doesn't hate you, nobody hates you."

"I do," Lucy raises her hand.

"Shut up, Lucy." Three voices sound at the same time.

Brody forces it down, "You don't hate her, Lucy. Drop it."

Riley groans...of course it's the one mind she can't read that has decided to speak up…she guesses;

"No, you don't."

Lucy seems to accept the response regardless, focusing her pizza and choosing to fiddle with her food. With a cringe full of disgust she moves away from the team- from Izabella specifically- over toward the window to eat alone and sort through her emotions/ADHD. 

Izabella whispers when she's close enough to Riley, biting her lip timidly- unreadable at that, "Does he, like... like me?"

"Ugh! Girl,' Riley groans again, tempted to just facepalm on the pizza and drown, 'I'm not answering that! Woman up and ask him yourself."

"Hey, you were the one who snooped..Not my fault." Izzy pouts, poking at her food and looking at the closed door where the boy disappeared from minutes ago.


End file.
